Orlando nightclub shooting

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, were killed in the massacre. It was the deadliest homophobic attack on LGBT people in United States history. It was the deadliest attack in the U.S. since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The gunman was Omar Mir Seddique Mateen.

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.

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

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

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". 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.