50 people died in shooting at US gay club

50 people died in shooting at US gay club

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 02:31 PM IST
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Miami : Fifty people died and another 53 were injured when a ‘lone wolf’ shooter sprayed gunfire at a gay nightclub in Florida in the worst mass shooting in US history.

The law enforcement agencies were still trying to determine whether it was possibly an act of terrorism. Terrorist groups have not claimed responsibility for the Orlando shooting but Twitter accounts which claim to be affiliated to the Islamic State have hailed the shooting. A state of emergency has been declared in Florida.

The gunman was Omar Mateen, an American citizen of Afghan descent. He was not on a terrorism watch list, although he was being investigated for an unrelated criminal act, BBC reported. US Officials said the killings were likely to be ideologically motivated, though there was no information that the gunman was associated with a particular group.

Mateen barged into the Pulse nightclub armed with an assault rifle and a handgun at about 2 a.m., when more than 300 people were inside dancing and drinking. He was also carrying a suspicious device, possibly a suicide vest.

The gunman exchanged fire with an off-duty police officer working as security outside the club, then mowed down dozens of patrons, sending hundreds of others, some of them bleeding, fleeing down the streets. Writing on Facebook, Pulse, which described itself as the most prominent gay club in Orlando, urged party-goers to ‘get out and keep running’ as bullets started flying at around 2am local time.

With the gunman holed up inside, and dozens of people hiding in a restroom frantically calling for help, the SWAT team created two diversionary explosions and under its cover nine officers moved into the club to confront the gunman. The survivors escaped in the chaos that ensued.

The shooter’s father, Mir Seddique, told NBC News that his son became angry when he saw two men kissing and groping in front of his son several months ago.

‘‘This has nothing to do with religion,’’ Seddique said, indicating that his son was a homophobic. US Congressman Alan Grayson said it was “no coincidence” the attack happened in a gay club There was no indication yet that the attacker was linked to an organization. Several past terrorist attacks, too, have been carried out in the US in name of Islam by people who were “self-radicalized.” They had no direct ties to any organization but inspired by groups like the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. The IS, in particular, has encouraged “lone wolf” attacks in the West, specifically the United States.

Witnesses described a scene of chaos, saying it took them some time to realize that the gunshots were not part of the loud, pulsing music. Patron Christopher Hanson said at first he thought the loud, rhythmic sounds were part of the music. At some point, it dawned on him that the “loud banging noises” were actually “gunshots going off.” “I didn’t see any of the actual shooters,” he told CNN.  “I just saw bodies going down and I was ordering a drink at the bar. I fell down. I crawled out. People were trying to escape out at the back.

‘‘I just know that when I hit the ground, I was crawling and I hit my elbows and my knees. When I got across the street, there were people — blood everywhere.” Many had received calls and texts from loved ones inside the club as the siege began, and some have heard nothing since.

The attack took place four miles from where The Voice singer Christina Grimmie, 22, was shot dead at The Plaza Live on Friday. The death toll given by the Mayor suggests that the Orlando attack surpasses the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech which left 32 people dead.

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