Earlier, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson identified the shooter as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Advertisement
The shooting erupted early this morning and police say “multiple” injuries have been reported. The FBI is involved.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Ron Hopper said there’s no further threat to Orlando or the surrounding area. I have been in constant communication with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and state and local law enforcement this morning.
An OPD officer working at Pulse was the first to respond and exchange gunfire with the shooter, Mina said.
Officers killed the gunman, who they called a “lone wolf”, in a shootout just before 6 a.m. It was then, according to police, that the incident developed into “a hostage situation”. “Shooter opened fire @ around 2:00am”.
Dozens of emergency vehicles surrounded the chaotic scene amidst unconfirmed reports of as many as 20 casualties. The post has had more than 500 comments, including first-hand accounts from people who managed to escape.
What have eyewitnesses said?
“Everybody was drinking their last sip”, he said.
Richard Negroni said: “We just heard shots, it was less than a minute, it felt longer”.
Pulse is a gay dance club, according to its Facebook page, where the message, “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running”, was posted at 2 a.m.
“This did turn into a hostage situation”, Orlando police chief John Mina said. They declined to provide the number of casualties, saying details will be available later.
He also said bomb squad dogs and crews were at the scene.
The club advertises itself online as “Orlando’s hottest gay bar”. The partiers were there to celebrate Latin Flavor Night.
Jovial, well-dressed crowds heeded the call in an event that turned into a nightmare. I wasn’t able to see the shooter or people get hurt, at some point, there was a brief pause, and a group of us got up and went to the exit that leads to the patio area outside.
“I just know when you hear the bang you’re not shot, so I knew I was OK at that particular moment”.
Ricardo Almodovar, who claimed he was present at the club at the time of the shooting, wrote on Facebook that a shooter opened fire inside the busy venue.
Anthony Torres, who was at Pulse, told CNN that the “shots did not sound like a regular handgun, it sounded like it was shooting repetitively and it wouldn’t stop”.
“And when I did, I saw people shot”.
Tearful relatives waited outside the club as lights from police cars flashed in the background. “When I turned around to look, I saw everyone falling and dropping”, the eyewitness said.
He also heard people screaming that others in the nightclub were dead. “Just screaming and coming out running like insane”. The attacker has reportedly taken hostages. “The SWAT team is inside there”.
Orlando police said Sunday that the club shooting had no obvious link to Grimmie’s murder. Police are urging anyone with information to call the Federal Bureau of Investigation hotline.
Advertisement
“PLESSE TELL THE COPS WERE WT PULSE ORLANDO HIDING IN THE DRESSING ROOM THERE WAS A SHOOTING”, Twitter user GoEmili0 wrote.
