“This had nothing to do with religion,” Mir Seddique told the network, recalling a recent incident in downtown Miami.
“This is clearly an act of terror,” Florida Governor Rick Scott told reporters, declaring a county-wide state of emergency.īut the suspect’s father told NBC news that his son may have been motivated by homophobia and not by his Muslim faith. Terry DeCarlo, executive director of the LGBT Center of Central Florida, center, is comforted by Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, right. The FBI said they were investigating the possible radical Islamic “leanings” of the suspect, identified by US media as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, a US citizen of Afghan descent. Police shot the gunman dead after they stormed the Pulse nightclub in downtown Orlando in the early hours of this morning.
We have cleared the building, and it is with great sadness that I share we have not 20 but 50 casualties in addition to the shooter … there are another 53 that are hospitalised.
