Orlando nightclub shooting

Orlando nightclub shooting
Part of mass shootings in the United States, and violence against LGBT people in the United States
During shooting
The scene of the shooting
Orlando is located in Florida
Orlando
Orlando
Orlando (Florida)
LocationPulse Nightclub
1912 S. Orange Avenue
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Coordinates28°31′10.5″N 81°22′36.5″W / 28.519583°N 81.376806°W / 28.519583; -81.376806
DateJune 12, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-06-12)
2:02 a.m. – 5:14 a.m. EDT (UTC−04:00)
TargetPatrons of Pulse nightclub
Attack type
Mass shooting, mass murder, hostage-taking, domestic terrorism,
Weapons
Deaths50 (including the perpetrator)
Injured
58 (53 by gunfire)[1]
PerpetratorOmar Mateen
MotiveIslamic extremist

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.

More than fifty people, including the shooter,[2] were killed in the massacre. It was the deadliest attack in the U.S. since the September 11, 2001 attacks.[3][4] Until the 2017 Las Vegas shooting that killed 60 people, the Pulse shooting was the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

The gunman was Omar Mir Seddique Mateen.[2]

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.[5][2]

At about 2:00 a.m. EDT, Mateen fired shots inside the nightclub. He was armed with a rifle, a handgun, and a "device".[4] Mateen then left the club briefly and exchanged gunfire with a police officer outside,[6] 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".[7]

Reactions

United States

Florida governor Rick Scott described the incident as "clearly an act of terror", and declared a state of emergency.[6]

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".[8] 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

  1. ↑ "Rescue, Response, and Resilience: A Critical Incident Review of the Orlando Public Safety Response to the Attack on the Pulse Nightclub". December 17, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2020 – via www.policefoundation.org.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Perez, Evan; Prokupecz, Shimon; Brown, Pamela; Ryan, MaryLynn (June 12, 2016). "Orlando nightclub shooting: Omar Mateen was gunman, officials say". CNN. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  3. ↑ Kelly, Erin. "Trump, Clinton, congressional leaders react to Orlando shooting". ABC 13 News Now. USA Today. Retrieved 12 June 2016. House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said "this appears to be the worst terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11."
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ashley Fantz; Faith Karimi; Eliott C. McLaughlin (12 June 2016). "Orlando nightclub shooting: 50 killed in terror attack". CNN. A gay nightclub here was the scene early Sunday of the worst terror attack in U.S. history since 9/11.
  5. ↑ Grimson, Matthew; Wyllie, David; Fieldstadt, Elisha (June 12, 2016). "Orlando Nightclub Shooting: Mass Casualties After Gunman Opens Fire in Gay Club". NBC News. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cite error: The named reference time was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  7. ↑ "Pulse Orlando". www.facebook.com.
  8. ↑ The Associated Press (June 12, 2016). "Obama Says Orlando Shooting Was An 'Act of Terror'". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 12, 2016.