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ORLANDO, Fla., June 12 (Gephardt Daily/UPI) — Pres. Barack Obama has condemned the Sunday morning terror attack on an Orlando nightclub as the “brutal murder and horrific massacre of dozens of innocent people.”
“We know enough to say this was an act of terror and an act of hate,” Obama said, of the attack, which killed at least 50 people and injured another 53, many of them critically.
“This could have been any one of our communities,” Obama added.
The club targeted, Pulse, was popular with LGBT patrons. Obama also sent his condolences to the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender communities of Orlando and elsewhere.
To attack any American on the basis of religion, race, sexual orientation, Obama said, “is an act of hate against all of us.”
The shooter, identified as 29-year-old Omar Mir Saddiqui Mateen, was killed by police.
Multiple news sources are reporting that Mateen called 911 immediately before the attack, stating his name, pledging his allegiance to ISIS, and mentioning the Boston Marathon terrorist bombers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
The Islamic State News Agency has claimed Mateen was an agent. FBI officials have not confirmed the claim.
FBI officials have announced they interviewed Mateen in 2013 and 2014. One interview came after Mateen made terrorism-related comments to coworkers. The FBI could not confirm an actual threat at that time, officials said.
Mateen lived in Fort Pierce, Fla., about 120 miles south of Orlando. He was born in New York to parents from Afghanistan. Mateen worked as a security guard, and was licensed to carry guns. Mateen reportedly rented a car to drive to Orlando and initiate the Sunday attack.
Dozens of people were taken hostage inside the Pulse nightclub between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday by the gunman, who was carrying an AR-15 type assault rifle and a handgun. He also was outfitted with a device that may have been an explosive, police said.
Officers killed Mateen in a shootout in which one officer sustained a minor head injury after his Kevlar helmet stopped a bullet.
Mateen’s father told NBC news that about two months ago in Miami, his son had seen two men kissing and became outraged at the sight.
About 42 people were taken to three area hospitals, some being transported in the back of police pickup trucks when no more ambulances were available. Others were carried by other patrons to the closest hospital.
Orlando Police Chief John Mina said about 30 of the 320 people inside the nightclub during the shooting were “saved during the rescue,” which was executed by shooting shock bombs into the club, driving an armored vehicle through the wall of the building, and shooting Mateen dead.
“Tonight, we had a crime that will have a lasting effect on our community,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a news conference.
Terry DeCarlo, director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Central Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel the community was shocked and angered.
“This just makes no sense,” he said. “This was an attack on the LGBT community.”
Authorities are calling this attack the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. Prior to Sunday, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history was when a gunman opened fire on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va., killing 32 people in 2007.
Obama also mentioned gun control at his Sunday afternoon news conference, saying the incident was a further reminder of how easy it is for people to get their hands on weapons.
“We have to decide if that’s the country we want to be,” he said. “To do nothing is a decision as well.”
