Families brace for worst as Florida gay club victims identified after mass shooting

Family and friends of victims trapped in a gay nightclub by a gunman pledging loyalty to Islamic State waited anxiously on Monday to find out whether their loved ones were among the 50 people killed and 53 wounded in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The FBI and other law enforcement authorities were poring over evidence that could explain the motives for the rampage in Orlando, Florida, a massacre that President Barack Obama denounced as an act of terror and hate.

The gunman, Omar Mateen, a New York-born Florida resident and U.S. citizen who was the son of Afghan immigrants, was shot and killed by police who stormed the club with armoured cars after a three-hour siege.

Mateen, 29, called emergency services during the shooting and pledged allegiance to the leader of the militant Islamic State group, officials said. His father said on Sunday his son was not radicalised, but indicated Mateen had strong anti-gay feelings. His ex-wife described him as mentally unstable and violent toward her.

The shooting began just after 2 a.m. on Sunday at the crowded Pulse nightclub in the heart of Orlando, about 15 miles (25 km) northeast of the Walt Disney World Resort.

Some 350 patrons were attending a Latin music event at the club, a well-known gay nightspot in the city, and survivors described scenes of carnage and pandemonium as the shooter took hostages inside a bathroom. Nearly 24 hours after the rampage ended, authorities had publicly named only 21 of the victims, half of whom were in their 20s.

Family and friends waited for news outside a centre in Orlando where authorities were gathering details about people still missing.

Jaymie Glaspie, 35, was looking for her brother, Paul Henry.

"I've been calling all day, and I just went to his house," Glaspie said. "It's just ringing and ringing."

Maribel Mejia, 42, got good news about one friend, who sought cover during the shooting and escaped. Others were not as lucky.

"One is dead already," Meijia told reporters. "Six more, we don't know."





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