And yet: Reporter to Orlando Police chief: “You can’t classify your investigation, but then you come back with an Imam?”
ISIS wallows in latest sick attack on America: Terror group praises gay nightclub bloodbath just three days after issuing a warning that Florida would become a target (Daily Mail)
ISIS claimed they were going to attack Florida three days before a fanatic armed with an AR-15 assault shot dead at least 50 people in a gay nightclub, according to twitter feeds supporting the terror group.
Security services in Florida have confirmed the killer is 29-year-old Omar Mateen, a US-born citizen with Afghan parents.
(Note: He was a registered Democrat. –ed)
Several ISIS-linked Twitter accounts have praised Mateen’s actions, although there has been no official claim of responsibility.
One account posted Mateen’s picture with the caption: ‘The man who carried out the Florida nightclub attack which killed 50 people and injured dozens.’
Authorities were investigating it as an act of terrorism.
At least 53 other people were hospitalized, most in critical condition, officials said. A surgeon at Orlando Regional Medical Center said the death toll was likely to climb.
Religion of Peace
Omar Mateen
Trump has it wrong then….
Mayor Buddy Dyer said all of the dead were killed with the assault rifle.
‘There’s blood everywhere,’ Dyer said.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with an officer working at the gay club known as Pulse around 2 a.m., when more than 300 people were inside. The gunman then went back inside and took hostages, Police Chief John Mina said.
Around 5 a.m., authorities sent in a SWAT team to rescue the hostages.
Jackie Smith, who was inside the club, said two friends next to her were shot.
‘Some guy walked in and started shooting everybody. He had an automatic rifle, so nobody stood a chance,’ Smith said. ‘I just tried to get out of there.’
In addition to the guns, the shooter also had some sort of “suspicious device,” Mina said.
Authorities were looking into whether the attack was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter acted alone, according to Danny Banks, an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
‘This is an incident, as I see it, that we certainly classify as domestic terror incident,’ Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.
The suspect was identified as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Rep. Alan Grayson named the shooter, citing law enforcement officials. A federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation also confirmed the name. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
FBI agent Ron Hopper said there was no further threat to Orlando or the surrounding area.
When asked if the gunman had a connection to radical Islamic terrorism, Hopper said authorities had ‘suggestions that individual has leanings towards that.’
Authorities said they had secured the suspect’s vehicle, a van, right outside the club.
Relatives and friends, many in tears, gathered outside the hospital to learn whether their loved ones were among the dead or wounded.
Smith did not know the conditions of her friends and came out of the hospital and burst into tears.
The wounded included one police officer who was shot and suffered injuries to his face, officials said.
Police had said previously on Twitter that there was a ‘controlled explosion’ at the scene of the shooting. Mina said that noise was caused by a device intended to distract the shooter.
A woman who was outside the dance club early Sunday was trying to contact her 30-year-old son, Eddie, who texted her when the shooting happened and asked her to call police. He told her he ran into a bathroom with other club patrons to hide. He then texted her: ‘He’s coming.’
‘The next text said: “He has us, and he’s in here with us,”‘ Mina Justice said. ‘That was the last conversation.’
Pulse posted on its own Facebook page around 2 am: ‘Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running.’
Just before 6 a.m., the club posted an update: ‘As soon as we have any information, we will update everyone. Please keep everyone in your prayers as we work through this tragic event. Thank you for your thoughts and love.’
Local, state and federal agencies were investigating.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the attack and asked for regular updates on the investigation, the White House said.
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