Terrorism hits Florida in nation's deadlist mass shooting

By DARA KAM
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, June 12, 2016 .......... Terrorism brutalized Florida early Sunday morning in the nation's worst mass shooting, leaving 50 people dead and dozens more injured.

The horrific shooting by a lone gunman around 2 a.m. at the Pulse gay nightclub in downtown Orlando --- declared "an act of terror and an act of hate" by President Barack Obama --- prompted Gov. Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency in Orange County.

Authorities identified the killer as Omar Mateen, 29, who was killed in a shootout with police after he held some club-goers hostage for about three hours. Mateen purchased two guns, including an assault rifle, within the past week, according to federal officials.

Mateen worked for G4S, a global security company with offices in Jupiter, since 2007, the company confirmed in a statement.

Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson joined local and federal officials in Orlando after the shooting. The investigation has been taken over by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Special Agent in Charge Ron Hopper told reporters at a press conference Sunday afternoon. Hopper also said that no other suspects are linked to the shooting. Mateen had been questioned by the FBI in 2013 for "inflammatory comments" made to coworkers and again in 2014 regarding a suicide bomber, but he was not currently under investigation or surveillance, Hopper said.

In a telephone call with 911 operators around the time of the attack, Mateen --- who was reportedly on a terror watch list --- allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorism group, according to authorities. After the attack, federal, state and local law enforcement were at a home in Fort Pierce where Mateen lived.

Elected officials and political candidates quickly issued statements or took to social media to condemn the massacre at the nightclub, a popular meeting place among the region's close-knit LGBT community.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer set up a special website and hotline for families and friends, many of whom were unable to locate their loved ones late Sunday afternoon.

"This is probably the most difficult day in the history of Orlando," Dyer told reporters at the afternoon press conference. "We need to support each other. We need to love each other. And we will not be defined by a hateful shooter. We will be defined by how we support and love each other."

The governor asked the nation to join in moment of silence at 6 p.m. Sunday to "mourn the loss of life and also pray for those that are still fighting for their life."

"Clearly, this is an act of terrorism. You just can't imagine this happening in any community," Scott, who also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff, said. "My heart goes out to every family member that's been impacted. … This state is going to be defined as a state of generosity, a state of love. We are a resilient state. We love people in our state and we are going to continue to do that."

Sunday's attack "could happen anywhere in the world," Rubio, R-Fla., said.

"Unfortunately, today was Orlando's turn," he went on. "We know that there's hate in the world. We know that some of it is inspired by warped ideology. … I hope they see today they won't terrorize America. They won't terrorize Floridians. We stand with all Americans … irrespective of their sexual orientation."

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama called the "horrific massacre" an "especially heartbreaking day for all of our friends --- our fellow Americans --- who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender." June is LGBT Pride Month.

"The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing, and to live. The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub --- it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds and to advocate for their civil rights," Obama said.

Many gay activists turned their grief into action by organizing blood drives, counseling and efforts to raise money for victims and their families. A number of vigils were planned across Florida on Sunday and Monday.

"We are heartbroken and angry that senseless violence has once again destroyed lives in our state and in our country," Equality Florida said in a statement.

Gay clubs "were often the only safe gathering place and this horrific act strikes directly at our sense of safety," the statement said.

"We have received a steady stream of emails and messages from those seeking to help or to make sense of the senseless. We make no assumptions on motive. We will await the details in tears of sadness and anger. We stand in solidarity and keep our thoughts on all whose lives have been lost or altered forever in this tragedy," the statement concluded.

Bondi also pledged support for the LGBT community, calling it a "horrible, horrible time" in Florida.

"We are making it clear --- anyone who attacks our LGBT community, anyone who attacks anyone in our state will be gone after to the full extent of the law," she said. "You're hearing on a horrible, tragic, violent day the word love."

But Obama and others, including Florida Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch, also used the massacre, which left 53 people hospitalized, to press for stricter gun laws.

The president --- who has seen 15 mass shootings since he took office in 2008 --- noted that Sunday's tragedy was the most-deadly shooting in the nation's history.

"The shooter was apparently armed with a handgun and a powerful assault rifle. This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub.  And we have to decide if that's the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well," he said.

Deutch said that "thoughts and prayers alone are not a sufficient response" to the situation, and demanded that lawmakers address the gun issue when Congress reconvenes Monday after a break.

Congress should immediately "vote to close the loophole that allows people on the terror watch list to buy assault rifles --- or any weapon," Deutch said in a statement. "This isn't politics; it's common sense."