At 2 a.m. on Sunday, June 12th, a shooter opened fire and took hostages at Pulse, a crowed LGBT nightclub in Orlando, FL. The shooter was Omar Mateen, 29, an American citizen whose parents were from Afghanistan. Police killed him during a shootout at Pulse around 5 a.m. Mateen claimed allegiance to the Islamic State and made a calm 911 phone call pledging his allegiance to ISIS just prior to the attack.
In the aftermath of this horrific and tragic incident, current updates have reported 52 dead and over 50 injured individuals. City officials estimate that 300 people were in the club at the time of the shooting.
The city of Orlando has set up a webpage where it is releasing the names of victims with their family’s permission:
http://www.cityoforlando.net/blog/victims/
Later in the day on Sunday, President Barrack Obama called this mass shooting “an act of terror and act of hate” in an address to the nation from the White House. President Obama called for flags to be lowered to half-staff and Florida Governor, Rick Scott, called for a moment of silence across the nation at 6pm on Sunday.
Several vigils are being held nationwide to honor those killed in the Orlando mass shooting. Many were held Sunday night in various cities, including Phoenix, Boston, and Los Angeles. More are scheduled to take place on Monday, June 13th, in Philadelphia, Tampa, Chicago, Baltimore, Las Vegas, New York, Charleston, and many other cities. Visit http://www.weareorlando.org for a growing list of vigils planned across the country as well as information on donating blood and money.
In the aftershock of this terrible incident, please keep the victims, families and all those affected by this heartbreaking tragedy in your thoughts and prayers.
#PrayforOrlando
