A mass shooting which took place in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, left about 20 people dead and at least 42 wounded early today Sunday June 12, police said, adding that a SWAT team killed the shooter. The gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun took hostages and opened fire inside Pulse Night Club, killing approximately 20 people and wounding 42 before dying in a gunfight with SWAT officers.
Police Chief John Mina also said the shooter had some sort of "suspicious device". He said the suspect exchanged gunfire with an officer working at the club around 2 a.m, then went inside and took hostages.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Danny Banks said during a news conference that the mass shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. He said the authorities are looking into whether this was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter was a lone wolf.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News they have identified the suspect as Omar Mateen, a U.S. citizen from Port St. Lucie, Florida, who was born to Afghan parents in 1986.
"At this point, this is an incident, as I can see it, we can certainly classify as a domestic terror incident," Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jerry Demings told CBS.