50 People Killed in American Gay Club

In the early morning of June 12^th, in the US city of Orlando, Florida, there was an attack on one of the local gay clubs. 50 people were killed and another 53 were injured and are in hospitals, reports Slon Magazine.

The shooting began at around 2:00am local time at Pulse, a gay night club. At that time, there were about 300 people inside, including the attacker. A police officer on duty at the site opened fire on the assailant. The offender then fled inside the building, taking the patrons hostage.

Immediately after the shooting began, the club’s Facebook page said: “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.”

Additional police then arrived at the club and tried to negotiate with the attacker. The talks, the contents of which the authorities did not disclose, were to no avail. At 5:00am, a SWAT team stormed the building and killed the assailant.

50 dead victims were found in the club along with the body of the attacker. One police officer was slightly injured after being shot in the helmet. 53 others are currently in Orlando hospitals.

This attack was the largest mass shooting in the history of the United States.

The US authorities have not officially disclosed the name of the criminal as of the time of writing, as the law requires them to notify the relatives of the dead first. However, several media sources identified him as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, a US citizen whose parents came from Afghanistan.

The attacker was armed with an AR-15 rifle and a pistol. A suspicious device was found on him as well, but as it was later reported by the police, no explosives were found. A controlled blast was carried out on the scene, but police have not specified whether it was to neutralize a bomb or to penetrate into the building.

The police and FBI have classified the incident as a terrorist attack.

The father of the alleged killer told NBC that his son perceived kissing men with disgust. According to him, the attack has nothing to do with religious beliefs.

The motives of the offender have not been officially named.