The Incident
Pulse Orlando posted on its Facebook page around 2:00 a.m. EDT June 12, “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.” Soon after around 2:02 a.m. EDT, shots were heard and an Orlando Police Department officer stationed at the night club thereafter engaged the gunman and returned fire. The gunman was armed with an assault rifle, a handgun, and a “device” that officials believed was another threat. After additional officers engaged the suspect, the gunman retreated into the nightclub and began to take patrons hostage.
A crisis negotiator was then sent to the scene, as the gunman was holed up inside and holding hostages. The shooter claimed to have an explosive device. Police said they later set off a controlled explosion without offering any additional details.
Around 5:00 a.m. EDT, SWAT officers entered the nightclub and exchanged gunfire with the perpetrator. Thirty hostages were freed, one officer was injured, and Orlando Police confirmed that “the shooter inside the club is dead”.
Reports suggest that possible explosive devices were strapped to the body of the assailant and others located in his vehicle.
The Perpetrator:
CBS News reported that the gunman was Omar Mir Seddique Mateen (November 16, 1986 – June 12, 2016). Mateen was a U.S. citizen from Fort Pierce, born to Afghan parents. The FBI suspects “the shooter had ties to radical Islam.”[21]
