begin quote from:
2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article documents a recent mass shooting. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (June 2016) |
| Orlando nightclub shooting | |
|---|---|
| Part of terrorism in the United States | |
Pulse nightclub in 2006
|
|
| Location | 1912 S. Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida, United States |
| Coordinates | 28°31′10.5″N 81°22′36.5″WCoordinates: 28°31′10.5″N 81°22′36.5″W |
| Date | June 12, 2016 c. 2:15 a.m. – c. 5:00 a.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) |
Attack type
|
|
| Weapons | AR-15-type semi-automatic rifle Glock 17 Semi-automatic pistol |
| Deaths | 50 (including the perpetrator) |
Non-fatal injuries
|
53 |
| Perpetrator | Omar Mateen |
The attack is the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in United States history, the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in U.S. history, and the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the September 11 attacks of 2001. The attack was labeled by the Orlando chief of police and Orange County sheriff as an act of "lone wolf" domestic terrorism. Mateen pledged allegiance to the organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the attack, though investigators have not yet found evidence linking Mateen to the group, despite ISIL having claimed responsibility.
Contents
Attack
On June 12, 2016, Pulse, a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was hosting a weekly Saturday night event that is primarily visited by a Latino clientele.[1]Mateen was armed with an Sig Sauer AR-15 rifle and a Glock handgun and approached the club.[2][3][4] An armed security guard, who was an Orlando Police Department (OPD) officer working extra duty in full uniform,[5] engaged Mateen, returning fire at 2:02 a.m. EDT.[6][7] Mateen was able to enter the building, however, and began shooting patrons just as last call was being announced.[2][8][7] About 320 people were in the club at the time.[2] The officer was soon joined by two additional officers who also began engaging Mateen. Mateen then retreated further into the nightclub and began to take patrons hostage.[2][3][4] About 100 officers from the OPD and the Orange County Sheriff's Office were first dispatched to the scene.[3]
Law enforcement and medical assistance arriving at the scene
Dozens of first responders—including OPD officers, Orange County sheriff's deputies, and FBI agents, as well as paramedics and firefighters from three fire departments—reported to the scene.[14] A crisis negotiator was present,[15] as Mateen was holed up inside and holding hostages.[16][14] Officers initially believed he was armed with a "device" that posed a threat, but it was later revealed to be an exit sign or smoke detector that fell down.[17] Due to the nature of the situation, officers said that they had to wait for three hours in order to have a full assessment of the incident, wait for armored vehicles, and ensure they had enough personnel.[3]
At 3:58 a.m., the OPD announced to the public that there was a shooting at the club, and that there were multiple injuries. OPD officials advised citizens to stay away from the area.[3]
Around 5:00 a.m., SWAT officers entered the building by driving an armored vehicle through a wall, then used two flash-bangs to distract Mateen.[20] Mateen was shot and killed in the gunfight, which involved eleven officers.[21] Five minutes later, police said that a bomb squad had set off a controlled explosion.[3][15] At 5:53 a.m., they confirmed Mateen's death.[3] Thirty hostages were freed during the police operation, and one officer received a non-lethal shot to his head and was hospitalized with eye injuries.[22][23][24] Once the officers got in, they found thirty-nine people dead inside the club and another two people dead outside.[16][20]
Victims
At least 49 people were killed; another 53 people were injured in the shooting, with many requiring surgery in local hospitals.[25] [26][22][27][16][28][29][30] This made the attack the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history,[31][32] the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in the history of the United States,[33] and the deadliest terrorist attack in the country since the September 11 attacks of 2001.[12][34]Thirty-eight people were pronounced dead at the scene, while eleven people were taken to hospitals and later pronounced dead.[12][20] The nightclub is three blocks from Orlando Regional Medical Center, the primary regional trauma center, and many victims were taken there; two other area hospitals also treated victims.[14] The deaths of the following victims have been confirmed:[35]
- Stanley Almodovar III, 23
- Amanda Alvear, 25
- Oscar A. Aracena-Montero, 26
- Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
- Martin Benitez Torres, 33
- Darryl R. Burt II, 29
- Simon A. Carrillo Fernandez, 31
- Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25
- Luis Daniel Conde, 39
- Cory James Connell, 21
- Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25
- Franky J. Dejesus Velazquez, 50
- Deonka D. Drayton, 32
- Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25
- Mercedez M. Flores, 26
- Juan R. Guerrero, 22
- Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
- Miguel Angel Honorato, 30
- Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40
- Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19
- Eddie J. Justice, 30
- Anthony L. Laureanodisla, 25
- Jean C. Mendez Perez, 35
- Kimberly Morris, 37
- Luis O. Ocasio-Capo, 20
- Eric I. Ortiz-Rivera, 36
- Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32
- Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25
- Xavier E. Serrano Rosado, 35
- Gilberto R. Silva Menendez, 25
- Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34
- Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33
- Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37
- Luis S. Vielma, 22
- Luis D. Wilson-Leon, 37
- Jerald Arthur Wright, 31
Perpetrator
Main article: Omar Mateen
Omar Mateen driver's license photo
In 2011 and 2012, Mateen made two trips to Saudi Arabia.[41]
Mateen became a person of interest to the FBI during investigations conducted in 2013, when he was interviewed twice, and once again in 2014; in either case, he was deemed not a threat. The 2013 investigation was opened after Mateen made "inflammatory" comments to coworkers and the 2014 investigation was opened after Mateen was linked to Moner Mohammad Abu Salha, a United States radical who travelled to Syria and committed a suicide bombing there.[42]
Mateen had worked as a security guard for G4S Secure Solutions since 2007, and held an active firearms license and a security guard license.[42] A former coworker described Mateen as "unhinged and unstable" and said that he "had talked often about killing people and had voiced hatred of gays, blacks, women and Jews."[43][10]
Mateen's father, Seddique Mir Mateen, was quoted as saying that he had seen his son get angry after witnessing a gay couple kiss in front of his family at a festival marketplace in Miami months prior to the attack, which he suggested might have been a motivating factor.[44][45]
An ATF official said that Mateen legally purchased at least two firearms in Tampa within the week preceding the shooting, but it is not known if these were used in the attack.[46]
Aftermath
Many people lined up to donate blood at local blood donation centers and bloodmobile locations after OneBlood urged people to donate.[47][48] The LGBT Community Center of Central Florida provided grief counseling for survivors.[49]Investigation
Orlando Police Chief John Mina reported that a handgun and an AR-15-type rifle, along with additional rounds, were recovered from Mateen's body.[50] Mina called the shooting an act of "lone wolf" domestic terrorism. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said, "This is an incident, as I see it, that we certainly classify as domestic terror incident." When asked about Islam, FBI agent Ronald Hopper replied, "We do have suggestions that that individual might have leanings towards that particular ideology."[2] Mina said Mateen was organized, well prepared, and not from the local area.[19] The FBI set up a hotline for callers with information on the shooting.[49]A social media account connected to ISIL "gloated about the attack,"[49] while ISIL itself has reportedly claimed responsibility for the shooting.[51][52] These reports were based on the Amaq News Agency, reportedly affiliated with ISIL.[53]
An anonymous US counter-terrorism official said there is "no evidence yet" indicating that ISIL directed the attack or was otherwise directly linked to it.[54] US officials have stated that ISIL may have inspired Mateen without training, instructing, or having a direct connection with him; a number of past terrorist attacks, including the attack in San Bernardino the previous year, have been committed by "self-radicalized" assailants.[10] ISIL has frequently claimed responsibility for attacks perpetrated by the self-radicalized individuals who have pledged allegiance to it, despite the lack of any direct tie.[55][56] Investigators have said that no evidence linking Mateen to the group has emerged, and have cautioned that the attack may have been ISIL-inspired without being ISIL-directed.[57]
Following the shooting, officers from multiple federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies (including the FBI, ATF, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office and Fort Pierce Police Department) converged on Mateen's home in Fort Pierce and another home in Port St. Lucie. A bomb squad was present at Mateen's home to check for explosives.[58]
The shooting has been described as an example of soft target terrorism, which targets civilian locations with minimal security.[59]
Reactions
Government
Main article: Reactions to the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
President Obama's June 12, 2016, statement on the shooting
Florida Governor Rick Scott released a statement of support for all affected, and noted that the state emergency operations center is monitoring the incident.[65] Additionally, Scott declared a state of emergency for Orange County, Florida,[66][67][68] and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer declared a state of emergency for the city.[69][70]
Public
Vigil in Minneapolis
Many people on social media and elsewhere, including US presidential candidates, members of Congress, other political figures, foreign leaders, and various celebrities, expressed their shock at the events and extended their condolences to those affected.[73][74]
Vigils were held, or are being planned, in various cities and countries around the world to mourn those who were killed in the shooting.[75][76][77]
The state's largest LGBT rights group Equality Florida started a fundraising page to aid the victims and their families, raising $767,000 in the first nine hours.[78][79][80] By June 13, it raised more than $1.2 million.[81]
The 2016 Tony Awards ceremony was dedicated to the victims of the shooting, to whom host James Corden paid tribute in his opening monologue.[82] Lin-Manuel Miranda recited a sonnet which he composed in honor of the dead upon accepting the Tony Award for Best Original Score for Hamilton.[83]
World Media
A Turkish newspapper close to the current Turkish goverment published a headline calling the victims as "deviant" or "perverted".[84] which in turn was criticized by foreign media outlets.[85][86]See also
- History of violence against LGBT people in the United States
- List of terrorist incidents linked to ISIL
- List of terrorist incidents, January–June 2016
- List of rampage killers
References
External links
Categories:
- 2016 in Florida
- 2016 in LGBT history
- 2016 mass shootings in the United States
- 2016 murders in the United States
- 21st century in Orlando, Florida
- Attacks on nightclubs
- Crimes in Florida
- Deaths by firearm in Florida
- Hostage taking in the United States
- Islamic terrorism in the United States
- Islamic terrorist incidents in the 2010s
- LGBT history in Florida
- LGBT topics and Islam
- Mass murder in 2016
- Mass murder in the United States
- Massacres in 2016
- Massacres in the United States
- Murder in Florida
- Terrorist incidents in Florida
- Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2016
- Violence against LGBT people in the United States
- Beckett, Lois (June 12, 2016). "Orlando nightclub attack is deadliest US mass shooting in modern history". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
- Yeung, Peter (June 12, 2016). "Gunman's 'terror attack' on gay nightclub leaves 50 dead". The Independent. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
- "Obama: Orlando An Act Of 'Terror And Hate'". Sky News. June 12, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
- Swanson, Ann (June 12, 2016). "The Orlando attack could transform the picture of post-9/11 terrorism in America". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment