It was after 2.30am in Orlando, at least half an hour after the shooting began, when someone managed to post on the Facebook page of the Pulse nightclub, a haven for the vibrant LGBT community of central Florida.
Live Florida nightclub shooting: 50 killed and 53 injured in 'act of terror' – rolling updates
Casualty count rises after shooting attack on Pulse nightclub as police recount raid that killed suspect named by media as Omar Mateen
Read more
Barely a day earlier, police chief John Mina had held a press conference about another shooting, in which a gunman murdered pop singer Christina Grimmie and then killed himself.
“We’ve never had an issue here that I’m aware of, especially anything of this magnitude,” Mina said on Saturday.
On Sunday his department was confronted with the deadliest mass shooting in American history: at least 50 dead, 53 wounded, many in grievous condition.
In New York, mayor Bill de Blasio has ordered all US flags at half-staff as a mark of respect for the victims, and City Hall will be lit in rainbow colors “to represent LGBT pride at sunset”. Police have set up around the historic Stonewall Inn, considered one of the birthplaces of the gay rights movement.
In Los Angeles, police have arrested a man with an assault rifle, other weapons and possible explosives – he said he was headed to the city’s pride parade, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The chief of Tampa Bay’s police has also offered support to Orlando, and asked for help from the public: “Our message is that one that we have repeated many times: if you see something, say something, and we will do something.”
Philadelphia police official Joe Sullivan has tweeted from the city’s gay pride parade, offering condolences and support.
No comments:
Post a Comment