ORLANDO, Florida - A gunman killed 50 people and injured 53 in a massacre at a gay nightclub in the tourist hub of Orlando, Florida, early on Sunday, the city's mayor and police said, in an attack US authorities are described as a"terrorism incident."
The shooter was identified as Omar S. Mateen, a man that a senior FBI official said might have had leanings towards Islamic State militants. Officials cautioned that the Islamist tie required further investigation.
The death toll given by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to reporters made the attack the deadliest mass shooting in US history, eclipsing the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech university, which left 32 dead.