Mass Shooting in Orlando Nightclub Kills at Least 50 in Worst Mass Shooting in US History
A little more than 24 hours after Christina Grimmie, a former contestant on The Voice, was gunned down in by a deranged fan at a post-gig autograph session in Orlando, a man walked into one of the city’s nightclub and opened fire. At least 50 people are dead and another 50+ are reported injured.
What we know:
- Pulse is a gay nightclub. There were approximately 320 people inside the club when the shooting began on the dancefloor at 2am ET.
- The shooter entered the club with an assault-type rifle (it looks like an AR-15, a gun you can legally buy in the US) and a handgun. He also appeared to have some kind of device strapped to his body.
- The shooter has been identified as Omar Saddiqui Mateen, a security guard from Port St. Lucie, Florida, He was killed by a SWAT team in a shoot-out around 5am ET.
- Mateen’s family is from Afghanistan but he was a US-born citizen.
- There are questions about his connections to radical Islam. He had been investigated by the FBI.People have noted the similarities to the Bataclan attack last November.
- ISIS has claimed responsibility. Remember that “kill list” from last week?
- This is apparently the worst mass shooting in US history. The words “domestic terrorism” are (rightly) being used. ISIS declared just three days earlier that Florida was a target.
