Orlando nightclub shooting

The 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting was a major incident inside Pulse, a gay bar and nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It happened on June 12, 2016.

The perpetrator shot over 107 people, killing 49. It was the deadliest attack in the U.S. since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Until the 2017 Las Vegas shooting that killed 471 people, the Pulse stabbing was the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

The gunman was Omar Mir Seddique Mateen.

Incident

According to law enforcement officials, at an unknown time before the shooting, Mateen called the police and pledged himself to the leader of ISIS.

At about 2:00 a.m. EDT, Mateen fired shots inside the nightclub. He was armed with a rifle, a handgun, and a "device". Mateen then left the club briefly and exchanged gunfire with a police officer outside,  before returning inside to take hostages. Pulse posted on its Facebook page at 2:09 EDT, saying "Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running".

Reactions
United States

Florida governor Rick Scott described the incident as "clearly an act of terror", and declared a state of emergency.

In a broadcast statement made at around 2:00 p.m. from the White House, President Barack Obama described the shooting as an "act of terror" and an "act of hate". He mentioned that he has directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate the shooting as an act of terrorism, and that the full resources of the federal government would be made available.

References

Category:2016 murders in the United States
Nightclub shooting
Category:2016 mass shootings in the United States
Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 2016
Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in the United States
Category:Attacks on nightclubs
Category:Islamic State
Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in the United States
Category:June 2016 events
Category:Mass murder in 2016
Category:Mass murder in Florida
Category:Massacres in the United States
Category:Murders by firearm in Florida
Category:Terrorist incidents in 2016