Orlando rampage sparks anguish, defiance in month of Pride events

ORLANDO — A gunman who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State opened fire in a crowded gay nightclub early Sunday in a shooting that killed 50 and wounded 53.

Mateen, 29, a U.S. citizen whose parents were from Afghanistan, called 911 and talked about the Islamic State shortly before the massacre at the Pulse nightclub, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, Ronald Hopper, an assistant agent in charge of the FBI’s Tampa division, said at a news conference.

“The FBI first became aware of him in 2013 when he made inflammatory comments to co-workers alleging possible terrorist ties,” but could not find any incriminating evidence, Hopper said.

In 2014, the bureau investigated Mateen again, for possible ties to Moner Mohammad Abusalha, an American who grew up in Florida but went to Syria to fight for an extremist group and detonated a suicide bomb.

The gunman stormed the Pulse nightclub armed with an AR-15-style assault weapon and a handgun around 2 a.m., turning what had been a celebratory night of dancing into a panicked scene of unimaginable slaughter, the floors slicked with blood, the dead and the injured piled atop one another.

Terrified people poured onto the darkened streets of the surrounding neighborhood, some carrying wounded and bleeding victims to safety; police vehicles were pressed into service as makeshift ambulances; and hundreds of people gathered at hospitals and on the fringes of the law enforcement cordon around the nightclub, hoping for some word on the fate of their relatives and friends.

A three-hour standoff followed the initial assault, with people inside effectively held hostage until about 5 a.m., when law enforcement agencies led by a SWAT team raided the club in force, using armored vehicles and explosives designed to disorient and distract.

Hours after the attack, the Islamic State claimed responsibility in a statement released over an encrypted phone app used by the group.

Law enforcement officials increased security at gay Pride events and gay landmarks in cities around the country.

In the car, officers found three assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and ammunition, and a 5-gallon bucket with chemicals that could be used to make an explosive device, police said.