Orlando Nightclub Shooting
A man armed with an assault rifle and a handgun stormed a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and killed 49 people in the worst U.S. mass shooting in history.
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Police lock down Orange Avenue around Pulse nightclub, where people were killed by a gunman in a shooting rampage in Orlando, Florida June 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Kolczynski
The co-owner of Pulse, the Orlando gay nightclub that became the scene this morning's shooting, founded the club to honor her brother who died of AIDS and to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. -
23. FYI everyone, ISIS has just issued its daily news bulletin. Of note - no mention of Orlando https://t.co/TLE7J8CDNC
11:16 AM - 12 Jun 2016- Reply
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Suspect identified as Omar Mateen, 29. An American citizen born in New York. @FBI first became aware of him in 2013 https://t.co/gt18lhTM4G
3:14 PM - 12 Jun 2016- Reply
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Some additional details from Reuters reporter Tim Reid:
Omar Mateen had been investigated by the FBI twice before, in 2013 and then in 2014. The first investigation took place in 2013 when he made inflammatory comments to co-workers that indicated sympathy for terrorists. He was investigated and interviewed twice but the FBI was “unable to verify the substance of his comments,” FBI Assistant Special Agent In charge Ronald Hopper said.
Then in 2014, Hopper said,vMateen was investigated and interviewed again, this time for suspected connections to Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, an American citizen who became a suicide bomber in Syria in 2014. Hooper said Mateen’s contact with Abu-Sallah was minimal and it was deemed that “he did not constitute a substantive threat at that time.
Hopper said Mateen was not under current investigation at the time of Sunday’s attack and was not under surveillance.
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Trump calls on President Obama to resign in wake of Orlando shooting
ReutersRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump called on President Barack Obama to resign from office because he did not say the words "radical Islam," in a statement in response to the Orlando massacre where 50 people were killed. -
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Here's what we know about the man who killed 50 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando:- He was born in New York and lived in St. Pierce, Florida.
- He was the target of two FBI investigations in 2013 and 2014 after he made comments to coworkers in support of Islamic State.
- He made a 911 call claiming allegiance to Islamic State before this morning's shooting.
- He acquired the guns within the last few days.
- His imam said he had few friends in his congregation.
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Senator Dick Durbin calls for Congress to pass new gun law https://t.co/SyuXOJ9i4G https://t.co/0yMogSsYoS
8:35 PM - 12 Jun 2016- Reply
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Heavily armed man arrested on way to L.A. gay pride parade
ReutersA heavily armed man who said he was heading to a Los Angeles-area pride parade was arrested early on Sunday in nearby Santa Monica, but there was no apparent link with the deadly mass shooting in Florida, authorities said. -
Assault rifle used in Florida shooting drives gun control debate
ReutersWhen Omar Mateen entered an Orlando, Florida, nightclub on Sunday to carry out the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, he wielded a weapon that has been used in massacres from California to Connecticut: a military-inspired semi-automatic rifle. -
Gay Americans are shaken, unbowed by nightclub attack
ReutersFor many Americans, gay bars and nightclubs have long served as a place of refuge, a carefree place filled with like-minded souls away from the relatives, employers or anyone else who might judge them disapprovingly, or worse. -
Islamic State today reiterated a claim of responsibility for the attack
However, although the group claimed responsibility, this does not necessarily mean it directed the attack: there was nothing in the claim indicating coordination between the gunman and Islamic State before the rampage.
Here is what the group said in a broadcast on its Albayan Radio today:
One of the Caliphate's soldiers in America carried out a security invasion where he was able to enter a crusader gathering at a nightclub for homosexuals in Orlando"
- Islamic State, in a broadcast on its Albayan Radio
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Hong Kong gears up for fresh protests as activists target airport
HONG KONG Hong Kong braced on Friday for further demonstrations and a "stress test" of the city's international airport at the weekend, as nearly three months of anti-government protests showed no sign of abating.
