Orlando: Obama condemns ‘act of terror’ after worst mass shooting in US history

The tragedy happened amid an already febrile election campaign in which the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, has called for a ban on Muslims entering the country because of fears of terrorism. In a sign of how the political tone could rapidly deteriorate, Trump first tweeted on Sunday: Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I dont want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!

Subsequently, Trump did not cite any sources when he tweeted: Reporting that Orlando killer shouted Allah hu Akbar! as he slaughtered clubgoers.

In reference to a reported arrest in Los Angeles, Trump added: 2nd man arrested in LA with rifles near Gay parade.

The presumptive Republican nominee later issued a statement in which he called for Obama to step down, because he disgracefully refused to even say the words Radical Islam, and added: If Hillary Clinton, after this attack, still cannot say the two words Radical Islam she should get out of this race for the presidency.

Clinton, the former secretary of state, was more circumspect. I join Americans in praying for the victims of the attack in Orlando, their families and the first responders who did everything they could to save lives, she said in a statement posted to Facebook.

Clinton did, however, call the attack an act of terror, adding: We will learn more in the hours and days ahead. For now, we can say for certain that we need to redouble our efforts to defend our country from threats at home and abroad.

Clinton also called the attack an act of hate against the LGBT community.

After police said the shooter had an AR-15-type assault rifle and a handgun, the shooting also stoked the debate over gun control. Obama has long and sometimes tearfully expressed his frustrations at trying to push reforms through Congress. He has described the 2012 shooting of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut, as the worst day of his presidency.

In her statement, Clinton said: We need to keep guns like the ones used last night out of the hands of terrorists or other violent criminals. This is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States and it reminds us once more that weapons of war have no place on our streets.

NBC News said it had contacted Mateens father, Mir Seddique, who said: We are saying we are apologising for the whole incident. We werent aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country. This had nothing to do with religion.

NBC News also reported Mateens father as saying his son reacted angrily a couple of months ago when he saw two men kissing in Miami. The Washington Post reported Mateens ex-wife said he was violent and mentally unstable and beat her repeatedly while they were married.

He was not a stable person, the newspapers website quoted her as saying. He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasnt finished or something like that.

Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running

Americas worst mass shooting unfolded over three terrifying hours at the Pulse nightclub, which was celebrating Latin Night. A drag queen from Puerto Rico was scheduled to perform, after Orlandos 25th Gay Days festival. The shooting began at about 2am. Anthony Torres was about to leave. It seemed fake, he later wrote on social media. This had to be planned.

Torres wrote that he saw people screaming and running, looking for their loved ones and saw other injured people sitting on the floor. He and his boyfriend, sister and friends ducked out the door.

A police officer outside the club moved to confront the gunman, the Orlando police chief, John Mina, told reporters on Sunday. The officer drew the gunman outside on to Orange Avenue, where they exchanged fire. Then the shooter re-entered the club and started firing again.

A survivor, Christopher Hansen, mistook the first sounds of discharge to be part of the DJs set. You think you hear a song, its music, and then you realize no, its not, its real life, theres somebody actually shooting, he told a reporter outside the club. Its not OK. Its not.

He added that he knew the gunman must have had more than a handgun: there were too many shots. He fired dozens of rounds.

Staff at Pulse posted on Facebook: Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.

Outside, more than 100 personnel congregated, including officers from departments and agencies around central Florida, Swat teams, FBI agents and a bomb squad with dogs.

Inside, people scattered. Some hid in bathrooms. A local station, WFTV, broadcast several texts to family members. A mother recounted a text from her daughter and two nieces: Please come and get us. Please come and get us now. Theyre shooting. Theyre shooting.

Hes coming, a man wrote in another. Hes in the bathroom with us.

Eventually, the police made contact with the gunman, who had taken hostages. Mina declined to describe those talks on Sunday morning. The standoff lasted for hours. A mother, Mina Justice, said her son texted her.

He said: He has us, and hes going to kill us, and that was it.

Another mother, Lilbia Carmen, appealed for news on Facebook.

Nothing yet. My daughter is in there. Please keep praying for them, she wrote. Shes waiting for cops to be able to come out. I was on the [phone] and all I hear is shot guns.

Carmens daughter escaped the carnage. The children of dozens of other parents did not.

At about 5am the police and FBI decided they could not wait any longer. Our biggest concern was further loss of life, Mina later told reporters.

Two loud explosions startled the press and survivors still within earshot of the club two controlled blasts to distract the suspect and gain that advantage, Mina said. Then an armoured Bearcat truck smashed through a bathroom wall to free people while nine officers stormed the building, beginning a new battle with the shooter.

The gunman struck one of the officers with a bullet, but the man was saved by his Kevlar helmet, Mina said. The shooter was shot dead and about 30 people were rescued.

In addition to the weapons, police found a suspicious device on the suspects body. A bomb-defusing robot rolled inside, and they found the object was not explosive.

But the death toll surpassed authorities worst fears. They had estimated about 20 people killed at an initial briefing. After entering the club, they found 30 more bodies, 50 in all, and many more in dire condition, marking a death toll without precedent.

Later on Sunday, a 27-year-old man, who did not want to be named, showed reporters a bloody scratch across his stomach where he said a bullet had grazed him. The man said he had been standing at the bar, paying his bill, when the shooting started. He was carried across the bar by the weight of others rushing to escape, he said, and ended up underneath a pile of people.

When he was able to look up, he said, he saw about 20 bodies apparently dead or badly wounded on the floor around him.

Later, at police headquarters, people waited for news of loved ones. Brian Vieoma had been texting and calling his brother Luis cellphone since his family learned about the shooting. He had no reply and now feared the worst.

He came over for Latin Night. Venezuelans love to go dancing, Vieoma said of his 22-year-old brother.

Dyer declared a state of emergency, and alongside Mina, Hopper and a local imam urged Americans to give blood and unite. He told WESH-TV: Its a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. My heart goes out to the victims, their families. But were a strong, resilient community.

Dyer, who has been mayor of Orlando for 14 years, said he had never seen anything like this. I hope no mayor ever has to see anything like this.

Michael Cheatham, a surgeon with Orlando Health, told the press briefing local hospitals had implemented a mass casualty plan and spent the morning operating on a number of victims, many of them critically ill as a result of their injuries. Blood banks in the Orlando area were straining under the effort to take in donors, the Orlando Sentinel reported, as hundreds come out to give for the victims.

The mayhem came in the month that Americans celebrate gay pride. Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign the countrys biggest LGBT rights organisation said: We are devastated by this tragic act of violence, which has reportedly claimed the lives of at least 50 LGBTQ people and allies and injured more than 50 others.

We are grieving for the victims and our hearts are broken for their friends, families, and for the entire community. This tragedy has occurred as our community celebrates pride, and now more than ever we must come together as a nation to affirm that love conquers hate.