Mass Shooting overnight in Orlando, FL

[Staggerwing]

Someone entered a very crowded nightclub in Orlando and started shooting people. According to a live press briefing on the CNN feed Police responded and breached the wall, entering and shooting the suspect. By then there were already up to 20 dead and 42 wounded. The shooter also brought a number of possible explosive devices. The briefing also indicated there may be a connection to radical islam. The nightclub was a very popular gay club but the cops said they don't have any indication that the shooter picked the club because of that.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando-nightclub-shooting/index.html



Freaky that this happened in the same city that a former Voice TV show contestant was killed at an autograph signing just a day earlier.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/voice-singer-christina-grimmie-shot-after-florida-concert-n590161

[steve58]

Sad, very sad.  Will be remembering the victims and their friends/families in my prayers.

Interesting that a foreign news source seems to have lots more detailed coverage that US sources.

[Greybriar]

From the BBC: Florida Pulse gay club attacked in Orlando - at least 20 dead

[Steelgrave]

Sympathy to the victims.....more craziness it seems.

So possible connections to Islam? It will be interesting to see how that gets played in the media and by politicians. Imagine if it was a Southern Baptist shooter who didn't like gays. Religion would be the story. We would already be hearing how the shooter was influenced by anti-gay teachings in the Christian church, which would be vilified as much as the shooter. Here? I'm betting lunch the radical islamic angle is downplayed.

[Gusington]

Terrible...

[JasonPratt]

So possible connections to Islam? It will be interesting to see how that gets played in the media and by politicians. Imagine if it was a Southern Baptist shooter who didn't like gays. Religion would be the story.

Ohhhh, I'm willing to bet a Coke from past experience, that this gets played anyway against conservative Christians (whether as radically hateful as Westboro or more like me ;) ) who don't agree with fostering homosexual behavior. Not necessarily by major media, but wouldn't be surprised to see some of that, too. 

Sadness and prayers for the victims and their families (and for any family of the shooter who doesn't agree with his actions).

[Steelgrave]

It's now at 50 dead and 53 wounded. This is horrible....

[mirth]

Awful, difficult to find words for this kind of evil. Prayers for the victims and families.

[Greybriar]

Shooter identified as Omar S. Mateen.

[OJsDad]

Prayers for the victims, families and friends.

Thought this was interesting.  From the AP

Mateen's father, Mir Seddique, told NBC News about his son seeing the men kissing a couple of months ago.

"We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident," Seddique said. "We are in shock like the whole country."

FBI agent Ron Hopper said there was no further threat to Orlando or the surrounding area.

When asked if the gunman had a connection to radical Islamic terrorism, Hopper said authorities had "suggestions that individual has leanings towards that."

Mateen's father said the attack had nothing to do with religion, he said.

[Staggerwing]

Shooter identified as Omar S. Mateen.

The suspected shooter called 911 prior to the shooting and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, two federal officials tell NPR. This is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/12/481744095/police-say-multiple-victims-after-shooting-at-orlando-nightclub

[BanzaiCat]

Absolutely disgusting and terrible. My first inkling as to what was going on was seeing on the news some kind of local Muslim spokesperson on the news saying for people to not jump to conclusions...welp, that in and of itself is pretty damned telling whom was responsible for it.  >:(

Now, it's upwards of 50 dead and 53 or so wounded.

Interesting that a foreign news source seems to have lots more detailed coverage that US sources.

Jesus. That's easily one hundred times the coverage of the US 24-hour news networks. All they can do is wring their hands, not say anything about the shooter's name or religion, and tell people to not "jump to conclusions." I'm so utterly sick of the fucking news here...how more people are not, I don't get at all. They just sit there and endlessly spout off on some of the most inane and stupidly obvious points over and over and over again. How in the hell do these idiots stay in business?

[Airborne Rifles]

While I generally agree about the quality of the news in our country, to be fair, CNN is now running the headline (in the biggest letters I've seen on their site) "Gunman pro-ISIS." So at least for now CNN doesn't seem to be shying away from the topic.

I also saw something on CNN that one of the SWAT team members who went in took a bullet to his Kevlar helmet. Good on them for going on guns blazing. Just wish they would have gotten in sooner.

[Steelgrave]

While I generally agree about the quality of the news in our country, to be fair, CNN is now running the headline (in the biggest letters I've seen on their site) "Gunman pro-ISIS." So at least for now CNN doesn't seem to be shying away from the topic.

I also saw something on CNN that one of the SWAT team members who went in took a bullet to his Kevlar helmet. Good on them for going on guns blazing. Just wish they would have gotten in sooner.

IMHO, CNN has been trying harder to take the middle ground between Fox and MSNBC. They're still very much the Clinton News Network in that aspect of their reporting, but every news source is going to be biased in some areas I suppose.

[Staggerwing]

I also saw something on CNN that one of the SWAT team members who went in took a bullet to his Kevlar helmet. Good on them for going on guns blazing. Just wish they would have gotten in sooner.

They posted his helmet on the Orlando PD twitter account: