ORLANDO (SW): Hundreds of friends, relatives and sympathizers gathered at the mass shooting site in Orlando, Florida to remember those who lost their lives in the worst mass shooting in the US history.
A day earlier, a man identified by law enforcement officials as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old who was born in New York to a family of Afghan origin, opened indiscriminate fire at the crowded Pulse nightclub famous among the gay community members leaving more than 50 people dead and 53 more wounded.
According to the New York Times, the shooting began around 2 a.m., and some patrons thought at first that the booming reports they heard were firecrackers or part of the loud, thumping dance music.
More than 12 hours after the attack, anguished relatives paced between Orlando Regional Medical Center and a nearby hotel as they waited for word. They were told that so many were gunned down that victims would be tagged as anonymous until the hospital was able to identify them, the NYT added.
It was the worst act of terrorism on American soil since Sept. 11, 2001, and the deadliest attack on a gay target in the nation’s history, though officials said it was not clear whether some victims had been accidentally shot by law enforcement officers, the Reuters has noted in its report.
Meanwhile, in an exclusive NBC News interview Mateen's father, Seddique Mateen, said that during a visit to Miami, a neighbouring city also in Florida, the suspect became enraged after seeing two men kissing, in front of his wife and their child. The father said he was not aware of any plan by his son, adding, "this had nothing to do with religion
The incident has been condemned by a number of leaders across the globe. President Barack Obama has said in a special address from the White House that this massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school or a house of worship or a movie theater or a nightclub.
American Muslim groups have also condemned the shooting. “The Muslim community joins our fellow Americans in repudiating anyone or any group that would claim to justify or excuse such an appalling act of violence,” said Rasha Mubarak, the Orlando regional coordinator of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
ENDS
