A mass shooting took place in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida last night. At least 50 people were found dead, and 53 injured.
The gunman has been identified as Omar Mateen, 29. According to an eyewitness, Omar entered the club with an assault rifle and a pistol about 2 a.m. and just started shooting.
Police crashed into the building with an armoured vehicle and stun grenades and killed Omar three hours after the massacre, as people were trapped inside Pulse nightclub in a hostage situation.
In an interview with NBC, the shooter’s father said the shooting may have been motivated by his son’s bigoted views against gay people. Omar recently became very angry when his 3-year-old son witnessed two men kissing in downtown Miami. Omar’s wife also came out to the Washington Post, saying her husband was an unstable person who constantly abused her physically.
Omar has an associates degree in criminal justice and worked as a security guard before. Police believe that the motive is “hatred” and not linked to religious extremism.
In the midst of this tragedy, hospitals are still enforcing the ban on ‘gay blood’, the rule that prohibits men who’ve had sex with men within the last year from donating blood. Many are enraged and baffled by this ban, because all the blood donated will be automatically screened for HIV anyway.
A death toll of 50 puts the Pulse nightclub massacre as the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Click here to access the names of the victims of the tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all family members and close friends of victims.
