ORLANDO, Florida — A gunman killed 50 people and wounded 53 in a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday, officials said, in the worst mass shooting in US history. Law enforcement officials said it could have been an act of Islamist terrorism.
The gunman was identified as Omar Mateen, a US citizen living in Port St Lucie, Florida, federal law enforcement officials said.
The killer stormed the Pulse nightclub armed with an assault weapon and a handgun — investigators were still looking into the possibility that he had explosives, as well — at about 2am (1pm Sunday, Thailand time), when more than 300 people were inside dancing and drinking, said John Mina, the Orlando police chief.
The gunman exchanged fire with an off-duty police officer working security at the club, then mowed down dozens of patrons, sending hundreds of others, some of them bleeding, fleeing down the darkened streets of the surrounding neighbourhood.
The gunman holed up inside with dozens of people effectively held hostage, some of them hiding in a restroom frantically calling for help, until after 5am, when the police, using an armored vehicle and stun grenades, assaulted and killed him. The raid saved 30 people, Mina said.
Ronald Hopper, assistant agent in charge of the FBI’s Tampa Division, raised the possibility that the killer was an Islamist radical, and law enforcement officials said they were investigating the slaughter as an act of terrorism.
“We do have suggestions that that individual may have leanings towards that, that particular ideology,” he said at a news conference. “But right now we can’t say definitively, so we’re still running everything around.”
Federal law enforcement officials said they have found no indication so far that the attacker was linked to any wider organisation, though they and the police were investigating several possible terrorism angles, both overseas and in the United States. Past terrorist attacks like the massacre last December in San Bernardino, California, have been carried out in the name of Islam by people who were “self-radicalized,” apparently having no direct ties to any organization, but inspired by groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida.
The Islamic State in particular has encouraged “lone wolf” attacks in the West, specifically the United States, a point reinforced recently by the group’s spokesman, in his annual pre-Ramadan speech. Noting that some supporters have lamented that they cannot strike at military targets, he took pains to explain why killing civilians in the land of the infidel is not just permitted, but encouraged.
Terrorist groups have not claimed responsibility for the Orlando shooting as yet, but a social messaging account linked to the Islamic State gloated about the attack.
Local and federal authorities were investigating, and the FBI set up a hotline for tips.
The toll of dead and injured far exceeded the 32 people killed at Virginia Tech in 2007, and the 26 gunned down at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.
Witnesses described a scene of chaos and confusion, saying it was hard at first to realize that the gunshots were not part of the loud, pulsing dance music.
“We were dancing by the hip hop area when I heard shots, bam, bam, bam, and the only thing I could think of was to duck, but I ran out, instead,” said Joel Figueroa, 19, of Orlando, who was inside. “Everybody was screaming and running toward the front door. I didn’t get to see the shooter.”
He said his friend Stanley was shot three times and taken to a hospital.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the attack by Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, a White House spokesman said, and asked to receive regular updates on the investigation.
The shooting began inside the club, Mina said, and continued outside when an officer working at Pulse attempted to confront him. The gunman then ran back into the club, resumed shooting and took hostages.
At 5am, Mina said, the police decided to attempt a rescue, detonating two explosives to distract the gunman and to help clear the club.
“With that advantage,” the chief said, nine officers moved into the club to confront the gunman. In the ensuing shootout, one of the officers was slightly wounded, saved by his Kevlar helmet, the authorities said.
“We rescued about 30 people,” Mina said.
During the rescue and shootout, officers with the SWAT team — using an armored vehicle — entered the club and hurried people to safety. Many of them had sought shelter in other sections of the sprawling club.
The survivors escaped under the cover of what the police called the two “discretionary explosions.”
The wounded were taken to three hospitals in the area. Most were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, the area’s chief trauma center, which is three blocks from the club.
On its Twitter feed, the Orlando Police Department asked other residents to “stay away from area” and said that it was seeking support from state and federal agencies. Later, employees in the area were asked to stay home if possible.
The club itself posted a message on its Facebook page about 3am: “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.”
People streamed out of the club into a chaotic situation with little idea of where to go. “Cops were saying, ‘Go, go, clear the area',” Christopher Hansen told an Orlando TV station. “You don’t know who’s what and who’s where.”
As the sun came up, video shot from a helicopter showed a situation that seemed to be under control, although windows on one side of the club appeared to be shot out.
Phone camera videos shot at the scene show police cars, ambulances and other emergency vehicles outside the club on South Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando. Streets around the club were shut down for several blocks.
Dozens of officers, paramedics and firefighters from the Orlando police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and three area fire departments were called to the scene.
“This will have a lasting effect on our community,” Mina said. “We are a strong community.”