:00:00. > :00:26.History - 50 people are dead after a gunman opened fire in a gay
:00:27. > :00:38.We must spare no effort to find out what if any connection this killer
:00:39. > :00:40.had with terrorist groups. What is clear is he is a person filled with
:00:41. > :00:43.hatred. The gunman has been identified
:00:44. > :00:45.as a US citizen, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, who was known
:00:46. > :00:48.to the FBI - reports say he swore allegiance to the Islamic State
:00:49. > :01:01.group just before the shooting. We as a D community, gay, lesbian,
:01:02. > :01:06.transgender Dan bisexual community, we are a community that love and if
:01:07. > :01:10.you think you can stab at this community by doing violent acts, you
:01:11. > :01:19.cannot. Good evening and
:01:20. > :01:22.welcome to BBC News. At least 50 people have been killed,
:01:23. > :01:26.and dozens injured, in a gun attack It's the deadliest mass
:01:27. > :01:29.shooting in US history. A man, armed with an assault rifle,
:01:30. > :01:32.opened fire at the club in Orlando and took hostages,
:01:33. > :01:36.before being shot dead. He's been named as Omar Mateen -
:01:37. > :01:40.who's thought to be a US citizen. He reportedly pledged allegiance
:01:41. > :01:44.to so-called Islamic State President Obama called the shooting
:01:45. > :01:48."an act of terror Let's go live to Washington
:01:49. > :02:06.and our presenter there, Katty Kay. As you said President Obama has
:02:07. > :02:11.addressed the American people in the last couple of hours. He said it was
:02:12. > :02:15.an act of terror but there was no definitive judgment on the motives
:02:16. > :02:20.of the shooter. Investigation is still ongoing and it is in the hands
:02:21. > :02:22.of the FBI who are dying deer in Florida trying to find out what
:02:23. > :02:28.happened in the days and weeks leading up to this event. What is he
:02:29. > :02:33.acting by himself, was at the critical issues or did he have
:02:34. > :02:36.connections to other people. Islamic State on the official website have
:02:37. > :02:41.said this was a fighter for Islamic State, that does not tell us
:02:42. > :02:44.necessarily very much because we still do not know if there was any
:02:45. > :02:49.direct connection between the shooter who has been named down in
:02:50. > :03:01.Florida and Islamic State itself. Let's get the latest note on this
:03:02. > :03:05.attack from Laura Becker. The shocking sound of gunfire echoed
:03:06. > :03:11.through the streets recorded by witnesses who feared the worst.
:03:12. > :03:16.Dozens managed to flee the popular gay nightclub but still worried
:03:17. > :03:19.about those they left behind. Hearing the bullets just go
:03:20. > :03:23.constantly all you can think about right now is yourself and then help
:03:24. > :03:29.others. That's what I had to do. When I knew I was safe and the guns
:03:30. > :03:40.were still going and the police were say go, go, go, I had no choice but
:03:41. > :03:45.to turn and help. One mother got a text from her son inside. He was
:03:46. > :03:50.interviewed he would die, others are still desperate for news. I don't
:03:51. > :03:53.know where my son is, if you had been shot, if he is dead, no one
:03:54. > :04:00.fatalities. As police responded the fatalities. As police responded the
:04:01. > :04:08.attacker held hostages for three hours. Police say he had an assault
:04:09. > :04:14.rifle, a handgun and some sort of explosive device. SWAT teams rescued
:04:15. > :04:20.30 people but inside find a team of utter devastation. Just to look into
:04:21. > :04:23.the eyes of our officers told the whole story. We could tell they were
:04:24. > :04:29.shaken by this incident by what they saw inside the club. The dead and
:04:30. > :04:36.unbelievable job, courageous efforts in rescuing many, many hostages.
:04:37. > :04:42.This is now being investigated as an act of terror. The suspect has been
:04:43. > :04:48.identified as Omar Mateen, the AFP I is trying to establish if he had
:04:49. > :04:53.links to Islamic groups. Although it is still early in the investigation
:04:54. > :05:00.we know enough to say this was an act of terror and an act of hate. As
:05:01. > :05:06.Americans we are united in grief, in resolve to defend our people. This
:05:07. > :05:11.is the deadliest mass shooting in American history at a place young
:05:12. > :05:14.people came to party. A state of emergency has now been declared in
:05:15. > :05:19.Orlando and as the investigation continues the police are urging calm
:05:20. > :05:28.until being no more and are clear about the motive. A reminder of
:05:29. > :05:32.course that this investigation is still in its early stages. You had
:05:33. > :05:37.the president described it as an act of terror and an act of hate. Let's
:05:38. > :05:43.hear more of what President Obama had to tell the American public. We
:05:44. > :05:47.are still learning all the facts. This is an open investigation. We
:05:48. > :05:53.have reached no definitive judgment on the precise motivations of the
:05:54. > :05:54.killer. The FBI is appropriately investigating this as an act of
:05:55. > :06:01.terror. As Americans, we are united
:06:02. > :06:05.in grief, in outrage and in resolve I've just finished a meeting
:06:06. > :06:09.with the FBI director and my The FBI is on the scene and leading
:06:10. > :06:12.the investigation in partnership The full resources of the federal
:06:13. > :06:16.government will be made available We have reached no definitive
:06:17. > :06:22.judgment on the precise The FBI is appropriately
:06:23. > :06:25.investigating this as an act of terrorism and I've directed
:06:26. > :06:42.that we must spare no effort This massacre is therefore a further
:06:43. > :06:44.reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands
:06:45. > :06:48.on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school or in a house
:06:49. > :06:51.of worship or a movie We have to decide if that is
:06:52. > :07:08.the kind of country we want to be, the press. We will update the names
:07:09. > :07:11.of the deceased after the next of kin have been notified. You heard
:07:12. > :07:16.the president and the governor is here. We have all the resources of
:07:17. > :07:20.the federal government, state government and local government
:07:21. > :07:24.partners, albeit have to offer, other community will be grieving
:07:25. > :07:28.today. The next few days, the next few weeks and the next few months.
:07:29. > :07:36.We need to support each other. We need to love each other. And we will
:07:37. > :07:49.not be defined by a hateful shooter. We will be defined by how we support
:07:50. > :07:56.and love each other. Clearly this is an act of terrorism. You cannot
:07:57. > :08:00.imagine this happening in any community. You cannot imagine it
:08:01. > :08:03.happening in your state if you are a governor of a state and you cannot
:08:04. > :08:09.imagine it happening in your country. Firstly my heart goes out
:08:10. > :08:12.to every family member who has been impacted. I know law enforcement is
:08:13. > :08:19.doing everything they can to notify next of kin. I get as much
:08:20. > :08:25.information as they can. The working diligently together, state, local
:08:26. > :08:27.and federal. I want to thank all of our law enforcement for everything
:08:28. > :08:32.they do, everything they have done in this case, each and every day. I
:08:33. > :08:36.have asked for officers of the United States to have a moment of
:08:37. > :08:44.silence at XP M Eastern time tonight to mourn the loss of life and still
:08:45. > :08:52.pray for those who are still fighting for dear life. Pray for all
:08:53. > :08:54.the loved ones. I want to thank law enforcement, especially those who
:08:55. > :09:00.walked into that shooting scene and rest their lives to save so many
:09:01. > :09:06.people. This state will be refined as a state of generosity, a state of
:09:07. > :09:10.love, we are a resilient state, we love people in our state and we are
:09:11. > :09:16.going to continue to do that. Anybody who is thinking about doing
:09:17. > :09:19.something like this in our state our Justices Swift, our penalties are
:09:20. > :09:25.severe, we have a great law enforcement team and we will
:09:26. > :09:27.continue to do the right wing. The federal government will do the right
:09:28. > :09:36.thing and provide all the services people need. I will turn over now to
:09:37. > :09:42.the Attorney General. Today is a tragic day and we are making it
:09:43. > :09:46.clear anyone who attacked our LGBT community, anybody who attacked
:09:47. > :09:54.anyone in our state will be gone after do the full extent of the law.
:09:55. > :09:57.Today my office has been working on bringing in advocates from
:09:58. > :10:01.throughout the state of our land. If you are missing a loved one or
:10:02. > :10:06.family member we are here to help you. You are dealing on a horrible,
:10:07. > :10:10.tragic and violently the word love and that is what we need to continue
:10:11. > :10:17.to do. We need to look out for each other, take care of each other and
:10:18. > :10:20.be available. At the community and state we have received calls from
:10:21. > :10:26.around the country of people offering support in this horrible,
:10:27. > :10:31.horrible time. The mayor has done a great job. They are remarkable back
:10:32. > :10:36.in the command centre watching federal state and local law
:10:37. > :10:40.enforcement and prosecutors all work together, second to none in our
:10:41. > :10:44.state and we should be very proud of the law enforcement, the men and
:10:45. > :10:49.women in uniform who are all working together at the team. And you very
:10:50. > :10:58.much. Now the F EI, sorry, our police chief. Just to clarify, we
:10:59. > :11:03.had 11 Orlando police officers that exchanged gunfire with the suspect
:11:04. > :11:09.and killed him. They have all been relieved of duty as this band
:11:10. > :11:14.practice. We will release their names over the next couple of days.
:11:15. > :11:20.We want the citizens and residents and visitors of our landlord to know
:11:21. > :11:27.we are omitted to their safety. Our officers put themselves in harms way
:11:28. > :11:32.and rest the lives for the and patriots at Pals and we are
:11:33. > :11:38.committed to do so again. We will continue with the investigation and
:11:39. > :11:43.assist the FBI and our focus is on identifying and the next of kin and
:11:44. > :11:47.setting up a system as well. I also want to take this opportunity to
:11:48. > :11:53.thank the open boring of support not only from law enforcement, we have
:11:54. > :11:57.multiple sheriffs from different counties respond, different least
:11:58. > :12:00.have reached out to us but I want to have reached out to us but I want to
:12:01. > :12:04.find the businesses in this area, they have all stepped forward to
:12:05. > :12:12.assist the law enforcement with food, water, we really do appreciate
:12:13. > :12:15.that. Thank you. I'm just going to provide a brief update as well. This
:12:16. > :12:21.has certainly been a trying day. You has certainly been a trying day. You
:12:22. > :12:26.can see as the day has grown the level of support an our humility has
:12:27. > :12:30.grown as well and Ison Cearley appreciate the raw support that we
:12:31. > :12:35.are receiving. We still have a lot of work to do yet in this
:12:36. > :12:41.investigation. At just after noon today there was a national phone
:12:42. > :12:45.tell of conference spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security
:12:46. > :12:51.in which law enforcement crossed the entire country came together to talk
:12:52. > :12:56.about what we must do to ensure the safety of our homeland. What has
:12:57. > :13:02.happened here was not purely an attack on the residents of Florida
:13:03. > :13:04.or the residents of Orange County or Orlando Sa via but this was indeed a
:13:05. > :13:10.attack on our nation. We appreciate attack on our nation. We appreciate
:13:11. > :13:14.the support coming from across the country in this effort. In terms of
:13:15. > :13:18.the Orange County Sheriff 's office we had three deputy sheriffs
:13:19. > :13:24.actively engaged in the rescue efforts that also fired their
:13:25. > :13:28.weapons. They, too, have been relieved of the law enforcement
:13:29. > :13:34.authority pending an investigation. What we typically do here in Orlando
:13:35. > :13:38.is call upon the Florida Department of Law enforcement to do an
:13:39. > :13:41.independent investigation of any law enforcement officer involved in
:13:42. > :13:47.shootings and that have been done in this case. They will be doing the
:13:48. > :13:57.investigation concurrently with that of the FBI. Thank you again. Thank
:13:58. > :14:01.you, Sheriff. Just to reiterate, the FBI has taken the lead in this
:14:02. > :14:05.investigation but I want to thank every investigation standing behind
:14:06. > :14:09.me and those you may or may not see currently who are working with a
:14:10. > :14:13.shoulder to shoulder, hand-in-hand, to get to the bottom of this
:14:14. > :14:18.senseless act of violence. I have some talking points to make sure I
:14:19. > :14:21.address the questions those earlier. I am gathering a lot of information
:14:22. > :14:25.right now so we want to share as much as we possibly can. The
:14:26. > :14:31.individual believed to be responsible for the terror attack at
:14:32. > :14:35.the club Sunday morning has been identified as Omar Mateen aged 29,
:14:36. > :14:40.an American citizen born in New York. He died of earning range of
:14:41. > :14:47.gunfire with police officers early this morning. The FBI first became
:14:48. > :14:54.aware of him in 2013 when he made inflammatory comments to co-workers
:14:55. > :15:00.suggesting terrorist ties. A guy investigated the matter including
:15:01. > :15:05.interviewing witnesses, during the course of the investigation he was
:15:06. > :15:09.interviewed twice. We were unable to verify the substance of his comments
:15:10. > :15:14.2014 he again came to the attention 2014 he again came to the attention
:15:15. > :15:20.of the FBI because of what the book ties to an American suicide bomber.
:15:21. > :15:25.The F EI are conducted an investigation including an interview
:15:26. > :15:29.with him. We find contact was minimal and did not constitute a
:15:30. > :15:39.relationship or threat at that time. It has been aborted heat made
:15:40. > :15:46.Coulter-Nile 1's money which he stated his allegiance to the Islamic
:15:47. > :15:51.State. We connections. We want to be as transparent and accurate as
:15:52. > :15:53.possible. Given the ongoing nature of the investigation will continue
:15:54. > :16:02.to provide updates and information becomes available. Thank you. We do
:16:03. > :16:06.see the 911 report is inaccurate? There were 911 calls in which there
:16:07. > :16:11.was conversation between the subject and law enforcement representatives
:16:12. > :16:18.and 911 dispatchers, that has become federal evidence. It is my
:16:19. > :16:24.understanding, I have not personally listen to them, but it was general
:16:25. > :16:31.to the Islamic State. ... Under heavy guard, can you confirm that? I
:16:32. > :16:36.am hearing there's people in hospital under heavy guard by law
:16:37. > :16:39.enforcement. Is that true? Could there be a second suspect? At this
:16:40. > :16:43.point we did not have a second suspect that we are actively looking
:16:44. > :16:49.for. We do not north any credible or singular threats that are facing the
:16:50. > :16:55.Orlando area or nationally. We are providing physical presence for the
:16:56. > :16:58.hospitals and the victim assistance centres to make sure everyone
:16:59. > :17:08.remains safe and secure. Special agent, with their victims found on
:17:09. > :17:11.the second floor? Should move around? All I can tell you is the
:17:12. > :17:16.crime scene are still being processed and I cannot comment on
:17:17. > :17:21.anything. He was interviewed twice by the FA by the FBI in 2013 and
:17:22. > :17:29.again in 2014 for connections to and on -- two a known terrorist, how
:17:30. > :17:34.could this guy get a state-wide gun permits? As I mentioned, those
:17:35. > :17:40.interviews turned out to be inconclusive. You have had the
:17:41. > :17:44.echoes of terror and he got a gun permits? Again come investigation
:17:45. > :17:50.was closed. Have there been more victims than a past Saint -- that
:17:51. > :17:55.have passed since our last update? Do we have someone from medical? I'm
:17:56. > :17:58.not personally aware of any other victims that have passed since the
:17:59. > :18:04.last press conference. Have family members be notified of the bodies
:18:05. > :18:08.that are inside but you are able to identify? We are trying to be as
:18:09. > :18:13.respectful as possible of the deceased people that still remain
:18:14. > :18:18.inside the facility. As we identify people, we are making notifications
:18:19. > :18:22.and then the police department and the city are preparing a website to
:18:23. > :18:29.list those that have been made contact with. Any idea how many have
:18:30. > :18:34.been contacted at this point? From the hospital plus that perspective
:18:35. > :18:43.at least most have been notified that their loved ones are there.
:18:44. > :18:47.Your ages and the FBI are invested in committee still a danger? No, the
:18:48. > :18:52.scene is clear but like special agent Hopper said, a lot of victims
:18:53. > :19:01.inside, trying to be respectful of that as well. It will take time and
:19:02. > :19:05.we asked people have patience. Right now yesterday? The subject I
:19:06. > :19:08.mentioned earlier was not under current investigation and the time
:19:09. > :19:14.of this incident was not under surveillance. Can you tell us what
:19:15. > :19:17.is family, can tell us about their interviews? Colligan says multiple
:19:18. > :19:21.interviews are being conducted as we speak, I have no details as to how
:19:22. > :19:25.far that has gone. Can you tell us what you're doing at his home?
:19:26. > :19:34.Interviews and investigation. Two more questions. Any word on the
:19:35. > :19:40.weapons? Our partners from ATF asking to speak -- are here to speak
:19:41. > :19:47.to that. And this Zadran Special Agent in of ATF. I want to say buy
:19:48. > :19:51.up our condolences goes out to the families of those impacted. ATF has
:19:52. > :19:56.traced those firearms, we know this individual did purchase or lease to
:19:57. > :19:59.firearms, he's not a privileged persons who can legally walk into a
:20:00. > :20:04.gun dealership and purchase firearms, he did so within the last
:20:05. > :20:08.week or so and thus far we are following up on that. I will not get
:20:09. > :20:12.into the DTI is to be specific location of the purchase, but he
:20:13. > :20:18.purchased to firearms, handgun and a long gun in the last few days. What
:20:19. > :20:20.was the suspect wearing? That is all the information we can release at
:20:21. > :20:25.this time, more updates as they become available. How long will
:20:26. > :20:31.these notifications take was that were doing it as quickly as
:20:32. > :20:34.possible. That press conference from a range of investigators and
:20:35. > :20:39.officials down in Florida, a lot of new information that we got from
:20:40. > :20:44.that press conference from the FBI. And we can recapture that, just that
:20:45. > :20:49.the shooter was known to the FBI, happy on his radar in 2013,
:20:50. > :20:56.investigated back then and investigated again in 2014. But
:20:57. > :21:01.joined Michael Hanlon. You have heard what the FBI are saying. This
:21:02. > :21:05.is someone on their radar who was investigated twice. One of the
:21:06. > :21:09.questions was how does somebody who had been investigated by the FBI
:21:10. > :21:14.with possible links to terrorism get hold of the kind of weapons he used
:21:15. > :21:17.last night? I'm sure a lot of people in Britain are shaking their heads
:21:18. > :21:21.at the laxity of gun laws, and let me assure you, a lot of us in the US
:21:22. > :21:25.do the same thing. The notion you could ever be allowed under any
:21:26. > :21:27.circumstances to buy in the US do the same thing. The notion you could
:21:28. > :21:30.ever be allowed under any circumstances to buy and a 15
:21:31. > :21:32.boggles the mind of some of us, even for a completely law-abiding
:21:33. > :21:36.citizen. For someone who has been investigated by the FBI for previous
:21:37. > :21:41.heat beat and yet is able to go off and by subtle weapon, I cannot
:21:42. > :21:45.defend that kind of law, I don't know why it would make sense. It
:21:46. > :21:49.reflects the paralysis in gun debate that even if there are individuals
:21:50. > :21:55.who believe that restriction should be minimal, just how this sort of an
:21:56. > :22:03.allowance could be on the books and available to buy for an individual
:22:04. > :22:07.like this killer boggles the mind. It is almost shocking in many ways
:22:08. > :22:11.as the new town massacre, which was shocking for their victims as well
:22:12. > :22:15.as the horrific nature of the violence and the sheer number of
:22:16. > :22:19.victims. In this case use cracked your head and wonder how we could
:22:20. > :22:23.have a system whereby someone who was investigated by the FBI a couple
:22:24. > :22:29.of years ago could get an 15. I don't know how to explain that.
:22:30. > :22:33.Michael, the weaponry aside, Ayew concerned by the fact this is
:22:34. > :22:37.somebody who was investigated back in 2013 for the things he said to
:22:38. > :22:44.his co-workers and came back onto the radar of the FBI in 2014 because
:22:45. > :22:48.of some kind of contacts he had made with the Mohamed Salah, an American
:22:49. > :22:54.suicide bomber. Does that worry you? I think once touring this kind of
:22:55. > :22:59.situation you don't want to pretend or imagine that you know exactly why
:23:00. > :23:05.the FBI closed this case. I don't want to be unfair to the
:23:06. > :23:10.investigators. Obviously we do not want to condemn as guilty anybody
:23:11. > :23:15.who makes one ill-advised hateful comment at some point in their life.
:23:16. > :23:20.On the other hand come up back and wonder if perhaps there were obvious
:23:21. > :23:23.clues that were missed that should have had this individual constantly
:23:24. > :23:29.on the radar screen of the FBI. Frankly, it feels like the latter,
:23:30. > :23:32.he probably had done enough that it is hard to see how he could have
:23:33. > :23:37.been given a clear bill of health. On that kind of issue I think I need
:23:38. > :23:42.to learn more, like many others, before I can condemn the FBI to
:23:43. > :23:46.quickly because one of their responsibilities is not punish
:23:47. > :23:52.someone without due cause. They have to be careful not to take a small
:23:53. > :23:57.infraction and turn it into a condemnation. I tend to think of was
:23:58. > :24:02.made, but it is necessary to learn more first. Michael, European
:24:03. > :24:05.security officials have said, listen, there is no way we could
:24:06. > :24:09.possibly track everybody full-time who comes on to our radar, we don't
:24:10. > :24:14.have those were sources. Resources in the US are limited as well. We
:24:15. > :24:17.have to learn more about that. You're someone who follows this kind
:24:18. > :24:23.of national security issue very closely. What are you looking at in
:24:24. > :24:26.this investigation? Strikes you? I agree that we cannot expect more
:24:27. > :24:31.enforcement to keep hot trail of each and every suspect. At all
:24:32. > :24:35.times. One would probably have to violate a lot of individual privacy
:24:36. > :24:41.and constitutional rights to do so even if you had the resources.
:24:42. > :24:45.Having said that, I am confused about why this individual could have
:24:46. > :24:55.bought weapons. That seems to me the most blatant matter on which we have
:24:56. > :24:58.failed in our general lawn forced into intelligence work that it would
:24:59. > :25:02.be nice to think that the FBI could have had in my watchlist and given
:25:03. > :25:05.more resources to him but as your question implies, even if they had
:25:06. > :25:09.done so it's not clear they could have prevented this tactical action
:25:10. > :25:12.at this particular time. They should have been able to and what we as a
:25:13. > :25:17.country practice should have been able to do is to prevent the gun
:25:18. > :25:27.sale. And that is where my specific interests are most acute at this
:25:28. > :25:31.moment that thank you. President Obama did allude to this issue that
:25:32. > :25:34.the fact this indicates how easy it is for people being weapons in the
:25:35. > :25:38.US and carry out this kind of attack. We got a lot of new
:25:39. > :25:43.information over the course of those different statements and security
:25:44. > :25:48.officials. This go to Orlando. You were listening to that particularly
:25:49. > :25:55.interesting from the FBI. What more did we learn from the official? What
:25:56. > :25:59.will surprise some people, certainly the reporters listening to that
:26:00. > :26:06.statement was that Omar Mateen was on the radar of the authorities as
:26:07. > :26:11.far back as 2013 and in fact in 2014 he was questioned, but of course,
:26:12. > :26:17.that did not stop what happened last night from happening. People will be
:26:18. > :26:21.asking what happened, was he being tracked? Was it after that
:26:22. > :26:25.interaction in 2014 that there were no signs are indications that he was
:26:26. > :26:28.going to be plotting and planning an attack like the one that happened
:26:29. > :26:32.here. The other thing we were told by the police is he bought two
:26:33. > :26:39.firearms, handgun and a long gone in the last week and bought both of
:26:40. > :26:42.those legally. The FBI was also questioned about whether they were
:26:43. > :26:46.looking for any other suspects at the moment. They said they don't
:26:47. > :26:53.have a second suspect in mind but there is security at hospitals. What
:26:54. > :26:57.more can you tell us? We are outside one of the hospitals where the
:26:58. > :27:02.majority if not all of the seriously injured and critical people who were
:27:03. > :27:05.at the nightclub are being treated. We have had an update from the
:27:06. > :27:12.hospital here in Orlando since we last spoke, they said they've had 43
:27:13. > :27:17.admissions and that surgeons here conducted 26 operations this
:27:18. > :27:22.morning. We have all so heard, we spoke before about how hundreds of
:27:23. > :27:25.people have been queueing up to donate blood. There has been some
:27:26. > :27:30.confusion because local radio and media outlets were reporting that a
:27:31. > :27:35.ban on gay people donating blood had been lifted in the wake of this
:27:36. > :27:38.tragedy. That has been clarified by the blood bank who say that is not
:27:39. > :27:43.the case and the Government restrictions on donations remain in
:27:44. > :27:47.place. They actually say that people who want to donate blood today
:27:48. > :27:51.should not come today, not because they don't want that, but they have
:27:52. > :27:54.reached full capacity today. The asking if anyone wants to help out
:27:55. > :28:01.they turn up tomorrow and they welcome their help. Thank you.
:28:02. > :28:05.Outside hospital and Orlando where people are still being treated and
:28:06. > :28:07.is worth pointing out this is still a medical emergency, people are
:28:08. > :28:11.having surgery at the moment you were in the nightclub. There have
:28:12. > :28:15.been appeals for blood, more doctors have been rushed to the hospital
:28:16. > :28:19.declined to injured. We have more details from the press conference,
:28:20. > :28:23.11 Orlando police officers were involved in the firefight with the
:28:24. > :28:27.gunman. There will be a moment of silence from the governor of Florida
:28:28. > :28:32.have called for a moment of silence throughout the US at 6pm local time.
:28:33. > :28:37.That is in about two and a half hours. I'm checking our clocks.
:28:38. > :28:46.There will be a's silence in the US and as you heard, the FBI telling us
:28:47. > :28:48.the shooter had been on their radar, 2013 he was investigated and
:28:49. > :28:54.questioned by the FBI for comments that he made two co-workers that
:28:55. > :28:57.alarmed them and in 2014 he was investigated again because he came
:28:58. > :29:02.to the attention of the agency because had some kind of contact
:29:03. > :29:07.with an American suicide bomber. That contact was deemed to be minor
:29:08. > :29:11.and the investigation was closed. The FBI at that press conference
:29:12. > :29:15.being questioned about this issue of how could somebody who had been on
:29:16. > :29:21.the FBI's radar under investigation with possible links or sympathies to
:29:22. > :29:25.Islamic radicalism and Islamic terrorism be able to get the kind of
:29:26. > :29:29.weapons he did. He bought those guns in the last couple of days we
:29:30. > :29:35.understand. What we do know is this investigation unfolds is that 50
:29:36. > :29:39.people altogether were killed, more are still in hospital, some 50 still
:29:40. > :29:43.in hospital. Some of those in critical condition. The president
:29:44. > :29:47.has addressed the American people and says this moment it was too
:29:48. > :29:53.early, when he was speaking to have a definitive judgment on the
:29:54. > :29:58.motives. He reached out to the LGBT community here in America, saying an
:29:59. > :30:01.attack on one American is an attack on all Americans. From Washington,
:30:02. > :30:08.that is it. More for you later. Thank you.
:30:09. > :30:18.We will be speaking more shortly. More details emerging in the last
:30:19. > :30:24.hour or so of Omar Mateen the man thought to have carried out this
:30:25. > :30:29.attack. You are watching BBC News. President Obama has said this is the
:30:30. > :30:35.deadliest shooting in US history and went on to say these killings where
:30:36. > :30:40.the reminder of how easy it is to acquire a deadly weapon in the
:30:41. > :30:44.United States these days. It is emerged Omar Mateen, the 29-year-old
:30:45. > :30:52.suspect of African-American origin had bought an assault rifle in the
:30:53. > :30:57.last week or so. The FBI said Omar Mateen was known to them, he first
:30:58. > :31:02.came to the attention in 2013 and again in 2014, he was investigated
:31:03. > :31:08.but not thought to be a threat but in the early hours of Saturday night
:31:09. > :31:13.into Sunday morning he made a 911 call and urged allegiance to the
:31:14. > :31:17.leader of Islamic State. At the moment it is not clear exactly what
:31:18. > :31:23.terror group. That will, of course, terror group. That will, of course,
:31:24. > :31:28.be part of the focus of the terror investigation that is unfolding
:31:29. > :31:32.right now. Well, in the past half-hour the Florida senator has
:31:33. > :31:37.been speaking. EZ Islamic terrorists need to know that they will not win.
:31:38. > :31:42.We know that the this heat in the world and some of it is inspired by
:31:43. > :31:46.a warped ideology. We have been in conflict with it for a very long
:31:47. > :31:51.time and the seat to intimidate us and terrorise us. I hope they see
:31:52. > :31:57.today he will not terrorise America, they will not terrorise Floridians.
:31:58. > :32:00.We stand for and with all Americans, irrespective of their sexual
:32:01. > :32:04.orientation, the party ideology, where they live, we are all
:32:05. > :32:08.Americans. You are seeing the response today and this will
:32:09. > :32:12.continue, we will not win. The Islamic terrorists need to know that
:32:13. > :32:16.they will not win. America will stand strong and together and
:32:17. > :32:20.whatever differences we may have on whatever issue we are all Americans
:32:21. > :32:27.and we stand here together united confronting this debt that has been
:32:28. > :32:32.a scourge to the world. That was the Florida senator Marco Rubio. And
:32:33. > :32:39.this statement was Clifford on behalf of the LGBT community in the
:32:40. > :32:43.people who love and if you think you people who love and if you think you
:32:44. > :32:48.are going to stab at the heart of us by doing this horrible violent act
:32:49. > :32:51.you are not the cause we love. We are a resilient people and we are
:32:52. > :32:55.going to show you in the face of this we will have people lined out
:32:56. > :32:59.behind those like banks. We will show what the good heart of humanity
:33:00. > :33:04.is not the bad horrible part of it and you cannot get your message
:33:05. > :33:07.across by cooling people. You are nothing but thugs and murderers and
:33:08. > :33:14.we will show you be in a better community and better America than
:33:15. > :33:18.this. So, what do we know about the man believed to have carried out the
:33:19. > :33:25.land a shootings? US authorities have identified him as Omar Mateen
:33:26. > :33:28.29 euros resident of Florida are United States citizen of Afghan
:33:29. > :33:34.descent. His father has apologised to victims. The porters of IES have
:33:35. > :33:39.praised the attack on social media. He used an assault rifle to
:33:40. > :33:41.carry-out the shootings. People who used to know him said they were
:33:42. > :33:48.surprised by today's news. He was a surprised by today's news. He was a
:33:49. > :33:53.regular young kid. He was a little younger than me so it is crazy. When
:33:54. > :33:59.did you first meet him? If few usable. I have not seen him in a few
:34:00. > :34:03.years but this is crazy to hear. Was there any talk, did you ever hear he
:34:04. > :34:09.did not like the people or felt it was something that offended him? The
:34:10. > :34:15.list of that. Not at all. He used to hang about with devils. He was a
:34:16. > :34:21.cool, calm, collected person. I never saw him in a fist fight in my
:34:22. > :34:26.life. He liked to party with kids. He was a normal teenage person who
:34:27. > :34:32.left a normal life. When was the last time you saw him? Five years
:34:33. > :34:36.ago, seven years ago. Just some of the thoughts of people who knew Omar
:34:37. > :34:39.Mateen. Let's turn our attention now to California where police in the
:34:40. > :34:43.south of the state have arrested a south of the state have arrested a
:34:44. > :34:51.man after finding explosives, weapons and eight camouflage jacket
:34:52. > :34:52.in his car. He told police he was heading for the Los Angeles tried
:34:53. > :34:57.Festival. Let's speak with our Los Angeles
:34:58. > :35:07.correspondent, Peter Bowes. A man arrested in Santa Monica just
:35:08. > :35:11.outside Los Angeles was arrested after the local people who live
:35:12. > :35:16.there cold the police to say someone was loitering in the area. When the
:35:17. > :35:21.police arrived his vehicle was searched and this is when the
:35:22. > :35:24.authorities say they discovered weapons and dangerous material. Some
:35:25. > :35:29.media outlets have gone further than that Wai Phyo an assault rifle and
:35:30. > :35:35.ingredients that could have been used to make a pipe bomb where
:35:36. > :35:39.found. Police have not confirmed those specific details. The
:35:40. > :35:43.investigation still continues. The man said he was heading to the gay
:35:44. > :35:49.pride festival which is underway right now, to meet a friend. Those
:35:50. > :35:53.claims are also being investigated. The authorities have also indicated
:35:54. > :35:56.that they do not believe that this stage there is any connection with
:35:57. > :36:01.what is happening here today in Los Angeles and the rest of this man
:36:02. > :36:07.with what has happened in Florida. No, absolutely but it is a pride
:36:08. > :36:12.festival is taking place then assuming that many, many people have
:36:13. > :36:19.poured into the city to take heart? Yes. It is an annual event.
:36:20. > :36:22.Thousands and thousands of able on the streets mostly in West
:36:23. > :36:29.Hollywood. And annual celebration of the quality of the pride and the
:36:30. > :36:32.festival that surrounds it. It was, I understand, some discussion and
:36:33. > :36:37.consideration earlier today as to whether to boot off the festival for
:36:38. > :36:42.this year or counsellor but that decision was not taken. It is going
:36:43. > :36:46.ahead at the authorities, the sheriffs Department says that out of
:36:47. > :36:49.an abundance of caution we have enhanced our security measures for
:36:50. > :36:52.the event and have tactical units at the ready to respond to
:36:53. > :36:59.circumstances. Thank you Peter Bowes circumstances. Thank you Peter Bowes
:37:00. > :37:03.in Los Angeles. Let's return now to the situation in Orlando where we
:37:04. > :37:08.note that at least 50 people have died as a result of that shooting in
:37:09. > :37:16.the Gulf nightclub in the city overnight and 53 people were injured
:37:17. > :37:19..- pulse nightclub. It might surprise people to hear that the
:37:20. > :37:26.authorities in the United States were quite quick to say this was an
:37:27. > :37:31.act of terror. Colloquially in the use of the term and clearly there
:37:32. > :37:36.was a lot of emotion. Clearly very early on there were suggestions of
:37:37. > :37:41.some kind of link, even ten years, to so-called Islamic state. I think
:37:42. > :37:44.the sheer horror and scale of this, the timing and so on and the nature
:37:45. > :37:49.of the target all led to that conclusion. At the end of the day
:37:50. > :37:54.President Obama himself was very quick to come out and described this
:37:55. > :38:00.as both a terrorist act that also with elements of a hate crime
:38:01. > :38:04.against the gay community as well. When somebody claims allegiance to
:38:05. > :38:09.the Islamic State it raises many questions as it solves because that
:38:10. > :38:13.can mean a variety of things. It can mean many things. The implication is
:38:14. > :38:19.there was this call from Omar Mateen at some point the attack progressed
:38:20. > :38:22.to 911, the emergency number like 909 in Britain where he claimed
:38:23. > :38:28.State. Islamic State through its State. Islamic State through its
:38:29. > :38:34.semi-official agency that has been very quick to claim some sort of
:38:35. > :38:39.responsibility for this. I think what is much more likely and what
:38:40. > :38:41.seems to be emerging is this idea of Omar Mateen as very much a lone
:38:42. > :38:45.wolf. An individual who is wolf. An individual who is
:38:46. > :38:48.radicalised on his own through his own interactions with people,
:38:49. > :38:53.through the Internet, through watching videos, chat rooms media
:38:54. > :38:56.and so on and then decide to take action at the time of their own
:38:57. > :39:02.choosing. Obviously highly charged at the moment. The holy period of
:39:03. > :39:08.Ramadan and of course also we have heard from his father that he had a
:39:09. > :39:13.articular antipathy towards the people. He is said to have been
:39:14. > :39:17.enraged recently when he saw a gay couple embracing in downtown Miami.
:39:18. > :39:23.That might suggest a link to the timing out as I say of this points
:39:24. > :39:28.to the idea of the Lone Wolf and a lone wolf is the hardest of
:39:29. > :39:33.individuals to thwart. You do not necessarily have the connections,
:39:34. > :39:38.the e-mails, the chat back and forth with other co-conspirators and that
:39:39. > :39:42.is the real worry here. All of those avenues will have to be investigated
:39:43. > :39:46.of course but if it is decided it is an act in terror in addition to
:39:47. > :39:51.being an act of hate, what does this tell us about the nature of the
:39:52. > :39:54.investigation that will unfold? It is going to be very difficult
:39:55. > :39:59.because if there are not any actual connections that such, you are
:40:00. > :40:04.looking for the mentality of the individual, the motivations. We
:40:05. > :40:07.heard from an FBI spokesman earlier that in 2013 he had been
:40:08. > :40:12.investigated, Omar Mateen, for inflammatory comments made to work
:40:13. > :40:18.colleagues, remember he was a security guard with G4S, worked for
:40:19. > :40:22.about nine years, a company which has contracts, we are told, with
:40:23. > :40:27.federal buildings in Florida, that federal buildings in Florida, that
:40:28. > :40:32.is interesting. But clearly nothing was sufficient to flag him up in any
:40:33. > :40:35.serious way to put him on any kind of terror watch list or anything
:40:36. > :40:39.like that. Clearly as you heard earlier as well if you combine that
:40:40. > :40:44.with the ease with which he could obtain automatic or semiautomatic
:40:45. > :40:52.weapons in the United States and they are 15, which many now as the
:40:53. > :40:57.M-16 here it is for a long time the standard weapon of the US military,
:40:58. > :41:02.an assault rifle, one of the things that is going to promote of this and
:41:03. > :41:05.President Obama himself dwelt on the question of gun control. It may well
:41:06. > :41:11.one way or another make one control a very live issue in the forthcoming
:41:12. > :41:16.presidential campaign. He has said many times when there have been
:41:17. > :41:20.other mass shootings that he has wanted to address this issue but has
:41:21. > :41:27.been thwarted in Congress. This is a huge issue for President Obama.
:41:28. > :41:31.People in the United States, it is a huge issue for more liberal
:41:32. > :41:37.Americans who see their societies lives and treated all too regularly
:41:38. > :41:42.by appalling shootings of one kind or another whether they be arranged
:41:43. > :41:46.teenagers, whether they be examples of hate crime on whether they be
:41:47. > :41:51.actual acts of terrorism more broadly. The difficulty as we all
:41:52. > :41:54.know is there are many people in the United States who just as
:41:55. > :42:00.passionately defend the so-called right to be arms which they insist
:42:01. > :42:04.is enshrined in those terms in the very founding documents of the
:42:05. > :42:08.country. It is a very, very difficult debate. It seems very
:42:09. > :42:13.unusual to talk about things in this way when you come from Europe where
:42:14. > :42:18.weaponry and particularly in Britain weaponry, certainly high-performance
:42:19. > :42:23.weaponry, is very hard to come by. But this is a feature of American
:42:24. > :42:27.society and it has been a feature of American society as long as it has
:42:28. > :42:33.been the and this is the dilemma is posed starkly when you have these
:42:34. > :42:38.terrible individuals using these weapons to carry out mass carnage.
:42:39. > :42:45.Thank you very much, Jonathan Carney, our defence correspondence.
:42:46. > :42:52.Now let's rejoin my colleague in Washington. We are starting to get a
:42:53. > :42:56.picture of what happened overnight the people who try to help those
:42:57. > :43:00.victims, one of them was Christopher Hanson who was near the nightclub
:43:01. > :43:05.and he described how he tried to offer help to people who had been
:43:06. > :43:12.shot. There was a guy laying there who had been hit on the back. I
:43:13. > :43:15.lifted him. I to my bandanna off and tied it over the Walsall blood would
:43:16. > :43:19.not gush out because I did not want him to read everywhere. It was
:43:20. > :43:27.another girl who had been hit on the arm and I wrapped it. But still you
:43:28. > :43:32.food here the boom, boom. It had to be more than one person or two
:43:33. > :43:37.because it was too continuous. It was like when you are likely gun
:43:38. > :43:43.range and all you hear is room, bang, bang. I can't even describe
:43:44. > :43:49.it. I mean, I am but it was really difficult to see in real life a
:43:50. > :43:54.horrible situation. Did people realise what was going on? Now, I
:43:55. > :43:56.don't think people really knew what was going on until these people
:43:57. > :43:58.the ground and heard people the ground and heard people
:43:59. > :44:03.screaming and heard the commotion because they did not know. When
:44:04. > :44:05.you're in a bar like that you really think it is music because there are
:44:06. > :44:10.three different places were they are playing music. Sounds on the patio,
:44:11. > :44:12.inside were the main areas and there was another area where they
:44:13. > :44:16.dancing, the go-go 's. There were dancing, the go-go 's. There were
:44:17. > :44:20.three different types of music laying at the same time so how would
:44:21. > :44:23.you really know what is what? Christopher Hanson dear who was
:44:24. > :44:28.inside the nightclub and we assume people would know immediately that
:44:29. > :44:29.there was a gunman inside the nightclub and call for the police
:44:30. > :44:33.but when there is a lot of music but when there is a lot of music
:44:34. > :44:37.going on, different sides and it is very loud, dumpling like this can
:44:38. > :44:40.start happening before people even realise what is going on and dealers
:44:41. > :44:46.danger in their midst and just dancing happening. The president has
:44:47. > :44:50.addressed the nation. He said there was known on at the time he was
:44:51. > :44:55.talking about the fact we cannot judge exactly what the motive was
:44:56. > :44:59.all Americans, what unfolded in all Americans, what unfolded in
:45:00. > :45:15.Orlando last night. Let's hear from the resident.
:45:16. > :45:23.We pray for the families. We stand with the people of Orlando have and
:45:24. > :45:25.you would and terrible attack on the city. It is still early in the
:45:26. > :45:28.destination. As Americans, we are united
:45:29. > :45:32.in grief, in outrage and in resolve I've just finished a meeting
:45:33. > :45:38.with the FBI director and my The FBI is on the scene and leading
:45:39. > :45:44.the investigation in partnership The full resources of the federal
:45:45. > :45:50.government will be made available We have reached no definitive
:45:51. > :46:01.judgment on the precise The FBI is appropriately
:46:02. > :46:09.investigating this as an act of terrorism and I've directed
:46:10. > :46:15.that we must spare no effort to determine what, if any,
:46:16. > :46:17.inspiration or association this killer might have had
:46:18. > :46:20.with terrorist groups. What is clear is that he was
:46:21. > :46:24.a person filled with hatred. Over the coming days we will uncover
:46:25. > :46:28.why and how this happened and we will go wherever
:46:29. > :46:32.the facts lead us. This morning I spoke
:46:33. > :46:35.with my good friend, the Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer,
:46:36. > :46:38.and I conveyed to him the deepest This could have been any one
:46:39. > :46:46.of our communities so I told him that whatever help
:46:47. > :46:49.he and the people of Orlando need, As a country, we will be
:46:50. > :46:56.there for the people of Orlando today, tomorrow and for
:46:57. > :47:00.all the days to come. We also express our profound
:47:01. > :47:04.gratitude to all the police and first responders
:47:05. > :47:09.who rushed into harm's way. Their courage and professionalism
:47:10. > :47:13.saved lives and kept the carnage It is the kind of sacrifice
:47:14. > :47:22.that our law enforcement professionals make every single day
:47:23. > :47:25.for all of us and we can This is an especially heartbreaking
:47:26. > :47:29.day for all of our friends, our fellow Americans,
:47:30. > :47:31.who are lesbian, gay, The shooter targeted
:47:32. > :47:38.a nightclub where people came together to be with friends,
:47:39. > :47:43.to dance and sing and to live. The place they were attacked
:47:44. > :47:46.is more than a nightclub, it is a place of solidarity
:47:47. > :47:53.and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness,
:47:54. > :47:56.to speak their minds and to advocate This is a sobering reminder that
:47:57. > :48:00.attacks on any American, regardless of race, ethnicity,
:48:01. > :48:07.religion or sexual orientation, is an attack on all of us,
:48:08. > :48:10.and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define
:48:11. > :48:15.us as a country. No act of hate or terror
:48:16. > :48:34.will ever change the values He went on to say that this massacre
:48:35. > :48:39.further reminds us how easy it is the people to get their hands on the
:48:40. > :48:45.web and should add a school, cinema or a nightclub. He asked, is this
:48:46. > :48:47.the country we want to be? President Obama is not the only politician
:48:48. > :48:51.come this attack comes in the midst of a heated political campaign, the
:48:52. > :48:55.one for the White House come here in America. The candidates running for
:48:56. > :48:58.the presidency have been weighing in on the shooting. The presumptive
:48:59. > :49:06.Republican nominee Donald Trump has tweeted:
:49:07. > :49:09.Hilary Clinton has added: Woke up to hear the devastating
:49:10. > :49:23.She said this was an act of terror and the lack of hate, she said
:49:24. > :49:26.please note that you have millions of eyes across our country, you are
:49:27. > :49:30.one of that I am one of them, we're fighting for your right to live
:49:31. > :49:32.freely, openly and without fear. Hate has no place.
:49:33. > :49:37.It's horrific, it's unthinkable and our hopes go out to all those
:49:38. > :49:40.who were shot that they can recover, and 25 years ago I believed in this
:49:41. > :49:44.country we should not be selling automatic weapons designed to kill
:49:45. > :49:50.people, and we have to do everything we can to make sure guns do not fall
:49:51. > :49:55.into the hands of people who should not have them, criminals,
:49:56. > :50:06.people who are mentally ill, so that struggle continues.
:50:07. > :50:12.This is a complete investigation, the FBI is looking at links to
:50:13. > :50:15.so-called Islamic State after the shooter allegedly called in and said
:50:16. > :50:21.he had affiliations and supported them. But the shooter's father has
:50:22. > :50:26.also said he had a hatred of the LGBT community and he got very angry
:50:27. > :50:30.when he saw two gay men testing Zebre testing in a restaurant. Mike
:50:31. > :50:35.thingy relic is the editor at large for the having to post's voices
:50:36. > :50:41.website. What is the reaction this morning from the LGBT community?
:50:42. > :50:47.People are horrified and really outraged, angrily about what they
:50:48. > :50:50.are seeing and really coming together forcefully to show
:50:51. > :50:54.solidarity. There are vigils that are planned all across the country
:50:55. > :50:59.in New York and Los Angeles and there is prize going on there, so
:51:00. > :51:07.those will turn individuals as well. -- Pride. All across the South as
:51:08. > :51:10.well. The factory shooter's father Kim Medard said he has seen two gay
:51:11. > :51:14.men kissing, and the old full implications of what then happened
:51:15. > :51:22.come so that got angry and took it out on the gay community in a
:51:23. > :51:27.handle. Ayew, guess the question isn't is everyone as a and stunned,
:51:28. > :51:30.do you pick up undercurrents of hatred in America still that would
:51:31. > :51:37.make you think this could happen? Absolutely. You know, there has been
:51:38. > :51:40.a sort of I call it a victory blindness where people, because
:51:41. > :51:45.we've had some big wins and a marriage equality, they think that
:51:46. > :51:51.the hatred has gone away and at the animosity has gone away and huge
:51:52. > :51:55.portions of the country are still very much opposed to LGBT quality,
:51:56. > :52:02.we see a backlash in North Carolina and other states, laws passed
:52:03. > :52:06.against a quality God alone -- religious liberties laws. We seen
:52:07. > :52:11.this backlash and nightclubs under attack before we seen lesbian clubs
:52:12. > :52:18.attacked in Atlanta in the 90s, we've just seen last fall in Dallas
:52:19. > :52:23.gay bars under attack. It is a site, space where we seen attackers go and
:52:24. > :52:27.I am a little bit concerned that there is so much focus on this on
:52:28. > :52:30.international terrorism and the connection to it which we've not
:52:31. > :52:35.seen yet in anything, there is still much that has not been found out and
:52:36. > :52:42.we should also be focused on how this man was filled with hatred,
:52:43. > :52:46.obviously seeing these two gay men kissing and that drove him to
:52:47. > :52:50.something. Doing something in the name of Isis or some other group can
:52:51. > :52:55.give someone a sense of higher purpose are doing something hateful,
:52:56. > :53:00.but it does not mean that it is connected to that. We need to focus
:53:01. > :53:04.on the homophobia and rage that still persists in so many people.
:53:05. > :53:09.This man has shown anger against his wife, we have seen some reports, he
:53:10. > :53:19.has been someone who certainly was filled with that kind of hate
:53:20. > :53:24.against people. Thank you. This will be part of its investigation. The
:53:25. > :53:27.FBI now will be trawling through everything surrounding this man,
:53:28. > :53:31.they will look at his electronic communications and cell phone calls,
:53:32. > :53:35.who he had contact with and whether he had any associates or anyone knew
:53:36. > :53:38.about this. Of course they will look at what his father said about his
:53:39. > :53:44.reaction when he saw two gay men kissing in a restaurant in Florida.
:53:45. > :53:51.More on this investigation as it in full -- and four from Washington.
:53:52. > :53:56.Bacteria. Thank you. A great deal of detail still to emerge from the
:53:57. > :54:00.various strands of this investigation. Earlier, Orlando
:54:01. > :54:07.police chief John Mina spoke more about the police response to the
:54:08. > :54:11.shooting. We had 11 Orlando police officers that exchanged gunfire with
:54:12. > :54:14.the suspect and killed him. They have all been relieved of duty as is
:54:15. > :54:18.standard practice. Before Department of Law enforcement will investigate
:54:19. > :54:21.the officer involved, the shooting portion of that and we will release
:54:22. > :54:26.their names over the next couple of days. We want the citizens and
:54:27. > :54:31.residents and visitors to know we are committed to their safety and
:54:32. > :54:38.our officers put themselves in harm 's way and risk their lives for the
:54:39. > :54:43.people and patrons at Pulse and we are committed to do so again. This
:54:44. > :54:46.time we will continue with the investigation and assist the FBI and
:54:47. > :54:52.focuses on helping the identification and next of kin and
:54:53. > :54:55.were setting up a system for that as well. John Mina from the local
:54:56. > :55:02.police department. There have been many tributes pouring into those who
:55:03. > :55:07.died and condolences expressed to the relatives and friends of the
:55:08. > :55:14.victims of the shooting last night. At least 50 people died, more than
:55:15. > :55:19.53 have been wounded. The Pope expressed his horror over what he
:55:20. > :55:23.called the homicidal folly of the Florida nightclub massacre. The
:55:24. > :55:27.French president said he expresses the full support of France and the
:55:28. > :55:31.French people with America's authorities and it people in this
:55:32. > :55:34.difficult time. The British Prime Minister said I am horrified by
:55:35. > :55:38.reports of the overnight shooting in Orlando, my thoughts are with the
:55:39. > :55:43.victims and their families. And Hillary Clinton has issued a
:55:44. > :55:49.statement saying this was an act of terror and also an act of hate. She
:55:50. > :55:53.said to the LGBT community across America, please know that you have
:55:54. > :55:57.millions of allies across our country. The Florida governor has
:55:58. > :55:59.asked for all of the US to have a moment of silence at 6pm Eastern
:56:00. > :56:15.time. This is BBC News. Good evening, it has been a messy
:56:16. > :56:16.weather picture