A gunman shot and killed 50 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday morning.
It is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history and the largest-scale terror attack since 9/11. Orlando Police Chief John Mina said that originally they believed 20 people had died in the attack, but when they entered the building they found more victims than anticipated. At least 50 people have died, and at least 53 people were injured.
The shooting began at Pulse Orlando shortly after 2 AM Eastern Time. At 2:09 AM, Pulse Orlando posted “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running,” on its Facebook page. Mina has reported that there were about 320 people in the club. According to the club’s Facebook page, they host Latin Night on Saturdays.
Mina explained that the original officer working at Pulse responded to shots fired at 2:02 AM and was involved in a gun battle with the suspect. The shooter entered the club and fired more shots. The attacker took people hostage. As police and SWAT Team members arrived, a standoff occurred. At about 5:00 AM, authorities decided to enter the building. They used an explosive to enter the exterior cinder-block wall of a bathroom. The explosive breach did not completely break down the wall, and an armored vehicle put a hole in the wall, allowing the hostages to exit.
“The suspect came out of that hole himself,” Mina said. He began firing at police and was then shot dead. Mina stated that negotiators had previously spoken with the gunman, who was “cool and calm when he was making those phone calls to us.”
He has been identified by the authorities as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen. Officials have reported that Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS in a 911 call that took place before the attack. Mateen had previously expressed agreement with various terror groups.
In the days prior to the attack, Mateen legally bought weapons. The shooter in the attack was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a handgun. On public records, Mateen is listed as living in Florida’s St. Lucie County. He had a firearm license, and no criminal record.
Tampa FBI Assistant special Agent-in-Charge Ronald Hopper said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had conducted two separate investigations on Mateen. I 2013, he “made inflammatory comments to coworkers alleging possible terrorist ties,” but the FBI was unable to verify legitimacy of these comments. In 2014, Mateen was interviewed over his possible relation to U.S. suicide bomber Moner Mohammad Abu Salha, but the FBI decided the contact was “minimal.”
U.S. Attorney Lee Bentley has said the criminal investigation is in its early stages.
Mateen’s father, Seddique Mir Mateen, has spoken about the attack.
“We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. We aren’t aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country.” The elder Mateen also expressed his disappointment that his son would commit this act, especially during Ramadan.
“He saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid, and he got very angry,” Mateen’s father said. Little is known about Mateen’s current wife, Noor Salman.
Mateen’s ex-wife, Sitora Yusifiy, spoke about Mateen, describing him as unstable and saying that he “would get mad out of nowhere.” She left him after he became physically abusive and controlling.
“He would often get into fights and arguments with his parents but because I was the only one in his life most of the violence was towards me at that time,” Yusifuy said.
“More than anything I was so so deeply hurt and heartbroken for the people who lost their loved ones. To be affiliated with somebody, at one point in my life, to somebody who caused such a tragedy, it shook me.”
Mateen worked as a security guard for G4S, the security company. Daniel Gilroy, a former co-worker of Mateen’s described him as “scary in a concerning way,” adding, “he had anger management issues, the things that would always set him off were always women, race, or religion.”
G4S has released a statement in regards to their former employee:
“G4S is deeply shocked by the tragic events in Orlando this weekend and the thoughts of everyone at G4S are with the victims and their families.
Omar Mateen was employed by G4S at a residential community in South Florida and was off-duty at the time of the incident. Mateen was subject to detailed company screening when he was recruited in 2007 and re-screened in 2013 with no adverse findings. He was also subject to checks by a U.S. law enforcement agency with no findings reported to G4S.
G4S is providing its full support to all law enforcement authorities in the USA as they conduct their investigations.”
Benjamin Newbern, a gay rights activist from Alabama, spoke on the issue.
“I don’t want to rush to judgment about what the motivation was here — if it was extremism, if it was specifically L.G.B.T. hate,” he said. “It doesn’t change the fact that those 50 souls, and now probably more, are gone.”
“I woke up, I turned on the television,” he said, “and I literally said out loud to myself, ‘We have got to do something.’”
The presidential candidates have also released statements regarding the attack, with Donald Trump using the events as a way to further his idea of banning people from entering the United States, and with Clinton attempting to differentiate her foreign policy agenda from Trump’s. Both candidates have recently described themselves as allies of the LGBTQ+ community. Florida Governor Rick Scott weighed in on the ocurrence, saying, “to take that number of lives is clearly an act of terror.” President Obama has also responded to the grisly events.
“The fact that it took place at a club frequented by the LGBT community I think is also relevant. We’re still looking at all the motivations of the killer. But it’s a reminder that regardless of race, religion, faith or sexual orientation, we’re all Americans, and we need to be looking after each other and protecting each other at all times in the face of this kind of terrible act.”
Cities around the world have shown solidarity with Orlando by changing the colors of city landmarks to represent the tragedy.
The city of Orlando is currently updating its public list of those killed in the attack. They await confirmation from family members of the victims. So far, more than half of the victims have been named. Their ages range from 20-50 years old. As more information is discovered about the victims, CNN is tweeting about each one and NPR is working to compile a page devoted to the victims.
Authorities are working to hone in on whether or not Mateen acted alone. The terror attack shocked the world, but the hit to the LGBTQ+ community was felt as well.
On Sunday, residents of Orlando and countless others donated blood. Vigils have been planned nationwide. LGBTQ+ pride events in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia included remembrances. In New York, people gathered at the Stonewall Inn to commemorate the lives lost in this hate crime.
The mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer addressed the people of Orlando in regards to the tragedy.
“We will not be defined by the act of a hateful murderer,” Dyer said. “We will not. We will be defined by how we respond and how we are responding: with love, with compassion, with unity among our city.”