A mass shooting which took place in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida,
left about 20 people dead and at least 42 wounded early today Sunday
June 12, police said, adding that a SWAT team killed the shooter.
The gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun took hostages
and opened fire inside Pulse Night Club, killing approximately 20 people
and wounding 42 before dying in a gunfight with SWAT officers.
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Police Chief John Mina also said the shooter had some sort of
“suspicious device”. He said the suspect exchanged gunfire with an
officer working at the club around 2 a.m, then went inside and took
hostages.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Danny
Banks said during a news conference that the mass shooting is being
investigated as an act of terrorism. He said the authorities are looking
into whether this was an act of domestic or international terror, and
if the shooter was a lone wolf.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News they have identified the suspect
as Omar Mateen, a U.S. citizen from Port St. Lucie, Florida, who was
born to Afghan parents in 1986.
“At this point, this is an incident, as I can see it, we can certainly
classify as a domestic terror incident,” Orange County Sheriff’s Office
spokesman Jerry Demings told CBS.
