Police said Sunday there are about 50 dead and another 53 wounded after a gunman opened fire in a crowded gay nightclub in Florida before police shot him dead.<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s by far the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Thirty-two people were killed at Virginia Tech in 2007 and 26 died in Newtown, Conn., in 2012 — the previous worst incidents.<\/p>\n Pollice refused to name the suspect officially. However, he was identified by relatives and law enforcement officials as Omar Siddiqui Mateen, a 29-year old U.S. citizen from Fort Pierce, Fla., who is of Afghan descent.<\/p>\n A police officer working as a security guard inside the Pulse club exchanged fire with the suspect at about 2 a.m. ET, police officials said.<\/p>\n A hostage situation quickly developed, and three hours later a squad of officers entered the club and shot dead the gunman. It was unclear when the gunman shot the victims.<\/p>\n \u201cDo we consider this an act of terrorism? Absolutely, we are investigating this from all parties\u2019 perspective as an act of terrorism,\u201d said Danny Banks, special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Danny Banks.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether that is domestic terrorist activity or an international one, that is something we will certainly get to the bottom of.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if the FBI suspected that the gunman may have an extremist leanings, including a possible sympathy with Islamic State, Ronald Hopper, an assistant FBI agent in charge, said: \u201cWe do have suggestions that the individual may have leanings toward that particular ideology. But right now we can\u2019t say definitively.\u201d<\/p>\n At least one officer was injured in the gunbattle but the decision to storm the club saved at least 30 lives, Orlando Police Chief John Mina told a press conference.<\/p>\n The suspect was carrying an assault-type rifle and a handgun as well as an unidentified \u201cdevice\u201d on him, Mina said.<\/p>\n Javer Antonetti, 53, told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper that he was near the back of the dance club when he heard gunfire. \u201cThere were so many (shots), at least 40,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw two guys and it was constant, like \u2018pow, pow, pow,\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Video footage showed police officers and civilians carrying injured people away from the club and bending over others who were lying on the ground. Dozens of police cruisers, ambulances and other emergency vehicles could be seen in the area.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was one after another after another after another,\u201d Christopher Hansen told CNN, describing the gunfire inside the club. \u201cIt could have lasted a whole song.\u201d<\/p>\n Police said they had carried out a \u201ccontrolled explosion\u201d at the club hours after the shooting broke out, but did not explain why that was done.<\/p>\n Orlando Regional Medical Center was placed on lockdown, with only essential workers and relatives of victims allowed access, it said in a Twitter message. The hospital could not be reached immediately for comment.<\/p>\n U.S. President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to provide any assistance necessary to local law enforcement officials investigating the shooting.<\/p>\n It was the second deadly shooting at an Orlando night spot in as many nights. Late Friday a man thought to be a deranged fan fatally shot Christina Grimmie, a rising singing star and a former contestant on \u201cThe Voice,\u201d while she was signing autographs after a concert in the Florida city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 50 dead in Orlando shooting; police cite \u2018domestic terrorism\u2019 Police said Sunday there are about 50 dead and another 53 wounded after a gunman opened fire in a crowded gay nightclub in Florida before police shot him dead. It’s by far the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Thirty-two people were killed at Virginia Tech …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":59523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-te-public"],"yoast_head":"\n