Mina said there was no indication of a link between the two shootings. It was the second shooting incident in the city in just over 24 hours, coming shortly after singer Christina Grimmie was shot dead late Friday by a gunman who stormed a theater where she had just finished a gig. The attack coincides with gay pride month in the United States, with festive marches and events being held all over the country including in Orlando last week. It was unclear whether all the victims were killed by the gunman or if some died in the ensuing shootout with police. Mina said about 30 people were rescued during the operation. Police then stormed the venue, using explosives and breaking through a wall with a wheeled armored vehicle known as a BearCat. "At approximately 0500 hours (0900 GMT) this morning, the decision was made to rescue hostages that were in there." This did turn into a hostage situation," he told reporters.
"The suspect at some point went back inside the club where more shots were fired.
Police said the shots were fired by a gunman armed with an assault rifle and a handgun.Ī police officer working "extra duties" at the club responded, joined by two other officers, who engaged the suspect in a gun battle, Orlando police chief John Mina said. The chaotic events unfolded over a three hour period, beginning at around 2 am (0600 GMT) when shots rang out amid the throbbing music at the Pulse Orlando nightclub near closing time. Hopper said authorities were looking into whether the suspect had "leanings" toward Islamic extremism, but Florida officials also invited a local Islamic leader to address the media in a bid to preempt a possible backlash against the Muslim community. Police have yet to officially identify the gunman but US television networks quoting law enforcement sources named him as Omar Mateen, who was born to Afghan parents in 1986 and lives in Port St Lucie, Florida, about two hours drive from Orlando.ĬBS News reported that Mateen - who died in a shootout with police after the siege - has no apparent criminal history.
The federal government has offered its full support with the probe. In March of 2018, she was found not guilty.President Barack Obama was being kept up to date by his homeland security and counterterrorism aide on what Florida officials are investigating as a terrorist attack.įBI official Ronald Hopper told reporters officials were "confident" there was no immediate further threat to the area, or to the United States.īecause of the scale of the crime, however, Orlando's mayor declared a city-wide state of emergency and has asked the Florida governor to take the same measure state-wide.
The FBI believed she may have known of his plan.
Seven months after the attack, Noor Salman, the Omar Mateen’s wife, was charged with obstruction of justice for making contradictory statements to the FBI, and aiding and abetting for allegedly ignoring her husband’s connections to ISIS. He was questioned again in 2014 about a potential connection to Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, an American suicide bomber who had attacked in Syria. Mateen had been interviewed by FBI officers twice in 2013, after making comments to coworkers about his connections to ISIS. While Mateen’s family said that he had shown anger towards two gay men kissing the week before the attack, evidence discovered in the years after the attack shows that this may have been a planned act of terrorism and may have had a different target-a Disney complex-before Mateen got spooked by police. At about 5 AM, the police stormed through their exploded hole, then shot and killed Mateen.Īt the time of the shooting, it was unclear if this was an act of terrorism or a hate crime. At the same time, officers secured the building and prepared to enter the bathroom using explosives on the outside wall of the building.