Orlando Nightclub Shooting!! 50 DEAD !!

50 people have been reported dead at a shooting incident that took place at a nightclub in Orlando called Pulse. It was also reported that 53 people have been wounded from the shooting. 

The shooter has now been identified as Omar Saddiqui Mateen. Read more below! 

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has declared a state of emergency for the city after Sunday morning’s terrorism attack. This is the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. in at least 30 years.

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, confirmed the gunman’s identity as 29-year-old Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, calling the attack a “hate crime” because the shooting happened at a gay club.

“Tonight our community witnessed or experienced a very horrific crime,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told media near the scene Sunday morning. “Many lives were lost, and many more individuals were impacted by witnessing the crime.”

A gunman took scores of people hostage overnight inside the nightclub between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.; about 42 people were taken to area hospitals, Mina said.

Officers killed the gunman in a shoot out and referred to him as a “lone wolf.” He was carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and was possibly wearing an explosive “device.” The Orange County Sheriff’s Office hazardous device team is now searching the area.

About 30 people were “saved during the rescue,” Mina said. About 320 people were in the club when the hostage situation unfolded.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation.

Agent Ron Hopper said they cannot rule this out as an act of domestic terrorism and that the suspect, who is not from Orlando, may have leanings toward extreme Islamic ideologies.