Deadliest Mass Shooting In U.S. History Leaves More Than 50 Dead At Gay Orlando Nightclub

[truebluefan]

In what police are calling the worst shooting in American history, a lone gunman killed 50 people and injured at least 53 others after opening fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Authorities say Omar Mateen stormed the downtown Pulse nightclub around 2 a.m. Sunday before taking dozens of people hostage and killing dozens more.

So far, these are the victims who lost their lives, as identified by the City of Orlando: Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34, Stanley Almodovar III, 23, Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22, Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36, Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22, Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20, Luis S. Vielma, 22, Kimberly Morris, 37, Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30, Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25, Darryl Roman Burt II, 29, Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32, Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21, Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35, Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50, Amanda Alvear, 25, Martin Benitez Torres, 33, Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37, Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26, Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 and Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25.

Read more http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry..._us_575d5938e4b0e39a28add1b4?icdjbjtgevmwjyvi

 

[truebluefan]

Gunman Omar Mateen Described as Belligerent, Racist and 'Toxic'

Investigators probing gunman Omar Mateen's massacre at least 50 people at a popular gay nightclub in Florida are trying to determine whether terrorism, homophobia or both pushed him over the edge.

A few key revelations about his past came to light hours after the 29-year-old was identified as the shooter who took hostages at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando early Sunday.

He was subsequently killed by a SWAT team.

• An ex-co-worker told NBC News that Mateen was racist, belligerent and "toxic."
• His father told NBC News his son was enraged after recently seeing a same-sex couple kissing in front of his family, an event that could have set him off.
  
• In 2013, Mateen was interviewed twice by federal agents after co-workers reported that he made "inflammatory" comments to them about radical Islamic propaganda. The following year, the FBI looked at him again because of ties with an American who traveled to the Middle East to become a suicide bomber.
• Law enforcement sources told NBC News he swore allegiance to the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in a 911 call moments before the rampage at Pulse.
  
• There's no indication that Mateen was in touch with terrorists overseas or that the attack was directed by someone else, a law enforcement officials told NBC News. Nor is there evidence that anyone helped or encouraged him, several officials said.

Read more http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/or...t-motivated-orlando-nightclub-shooter-n590496