The death toll far exceeded initial estimates.
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Police later reported that a sound heard at the club was a “controlled explosion”. The raid saved 30 people, Mina said.
The suspect in the Orlando attack was identified as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida. This did turn into a hostage situation.
The shooter was killed in a shootout when a SWAT team entered the club.
“At approximately 0500 hours (0900 GMT) this morning, the decision was made to rescue hostages that were in there”.
A man who was inside the club earlier described a situation of chaos outside as the number of casualties became apparent.
“We have to decided if that is the type of country we want to be”.
Orlando Police Chief John Mina said that Mateen was dead.
Rep. Alan Grayson named the shooter, citing law enforcement officials.
The wounded included one police officer who was shot and suffered injuries to his face, officials said. Eight other officers were involved in that shooting.
He said authorities are investigating whether the attack was a “hate crime perpetrated against gays”. Authorities were still working to clear the suspect’s vehicle to ensure there are no devices.
“People were jumping on top of them, walking on top of them, people were really insane, they were really scared”, he said. We do have suggestions that that individual may have leanings toward [radical Islam], that particular ideology. Mr Mina said that noise was caused by a device meant to distract the shooter.
The BBC reported that he was a USA citizen, and was not on any terrorism watch lists. The search did not turn up any criminal record.
Pulse posted on its own Facebook page around 2 a.m.: “Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running”.
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.
Reports also state that the investigators are looking into Mateen’s travel history, early influences and the kind of people he came in contact with recently.
“I didn’t see any of the actual shooters”, he told CNN. He adds that his main concern now is providing support for community members and their families.
Labour MP Chris Bryant has tweeted, calling for the rainbow flag associated with the LGBT community to be flown at half mast from the Commons for the victims of the massacre.
“Today we’re dealing with something that we never imagined and is unimaginable”, Dyer said.
Ronald Hopper, FBI assistant special agent in charge, said the suspect, born in Florida, whose parents are from Afgahnistan, has not been positively identified by his next of kin. “Thank you for your thoughts and love”.
He has declared the city of Orlando to be in a state of emergency. On Friday night, 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie was killed as she was signing autographs after a concert.
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USA officials cautioned, however, that they had no immediate evidence of any direct connection with Islamic State or any other foreign extremist group.
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“We have got to do everything that we can on top of that to make sure that guns do not fall into the hands of people who should not have them, criminals, people who are mentally ill”.
