Orlando Police Chief John Mina said that the toll from this latest mass slaughter could have been even greater, saying that a SWAT team “rescued at least 30 possible victims and brought them to safety.” Police said they were not able to say if all of the people killed or injured were shot during the initial burst of gunfire at 2 a.m. Until Sunday, the 2007 rampage at Virginia Tech - which saw 32 people killed and 30 others injured - was the country’s worst mass shooting. Police had said earlier Sunday that 20 people were killed before saying that the toll was significantly higher. It was not immediately clear if the death toll included the gunman. Police said that after a first round of gunshots at 2 a.m., the shooter took hostages for about three hours, until officers who went inside to rescue these people killed the gunman in a shootout.
ORLANDO - A gunman opened fire inside a crowded nightclub here early Sunday morning, killing 50 people and injuring 53 others in a rampage that was the deadliest mass shooting in the country’s history.Īuthorities in Orlando said Sunday that the siege at Pulse, a popular gay bar and dance club, was quickly deemed an act of domestic terrorism. JOrlando nightclub shooting: 50 killed in ‘domestic terror incident’ at gay club gunman identified (Washington Post)
