Sunday, June 12, 2016

Ramadan Death count: USA (June 12, 2016) - Muslim gunman kills 50 at gay nightclub in Orlando

(Orlando) 29-year-old Omar Mateen who opened fire inside the popular Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando at around 2am EST has been killed. Carrying a bomb and armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, he opened fire in the Pulse Orlando bar, leaving around 50 people dead and 53 injured. He then became involved in a gunfight with a police officer working at the club in the street outside the building, before running back inside where he took hostages.

Police have described the shooting as a "mass casualty situation" and said local, state and federal agencies were involved in the investigation. There had been more than 300 people inside the venue for the club’s Latin night when the gunman entered the building and began firing into the crowd.

After he was tackled by police, Mateen took 2 people hostage before being taken out by a SWAT team at around 5am EST. Police used a controlled explosive device in which to make an exit point for trapped people.

An FBI spokesman said they were investigating whether the attacker was a "lone wolf". He said the attacker appeared to "have leanings towards" radical Islamist ideology but it was not yet clear whether this was a case of domestic or international terrorism.

Omar Mateen has been named as the gunman who killed as many as 50 people and wounded 53 others at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Mateen, 29, from Port St. Lucie, Florida, is a U.S. citizen who came to the US from Afghanistan in the late 1980s.







Ramadan death toll is now at 1,358