A gunman has shot dead “around 20 people” in what police have described as “an act of terrorism” on a gay nightclub in Florida.The shooter, carrying a bomb and armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, opened fire in the Pulse Orlando bar in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Some 42 people are being treated for injuries in hospitals in Orlando.
Police said the gunman was involved in a gunfight with an officer, who had been working at the club, in the street outside the building.
The assailant then ran back inside the building and took hostages, police said.
One of the nine officers involved in the shootout was shot in the head, but his helmet “saved his life”, a police spokesman said.
The FBI is investigating the attack and said that the gunman may have “leanings” to Islamist extremism.
Law enforcement agents are trying to establish whether it was a “lone wolf” attack or whether the shooter had associates.
FBI Special Agent Ron Harper said: “Unfortunately there are people who died from gunshot wounds, maybe around 20, inside the nightclub.”
Mr Harper said there was no indication that other similar attacks were imminent.
The attack unfolded just after 2am when the first shots were fired inside the bar, with many clubbers mistaking it for music.
The club posted on its Facebook account: “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.”
. @orlandomayor Our community is strong. We will need to help each other's get through this. pic.twitter.com/XyUa8g5PT8
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 12, 2016
Ricardo Negron was in the Pulse club when the shooting began.
He told Sky News: “At around 2am someone started shooting. People just dropped on the floor. I guess the shooter was shooting at the ceiling because you could see all the glass from the lamps falling.
“There was a brief pause in the shooting and some of us just got up and ran out the back.”
He said he heard “non-stop firing” which probably lasted less than a minute but felt like a lot longer.
And added: “People have definitely been injured – or worse.”
Christopher Hansen said he was in the VIP lounge when he started hearing gunshots.
He said: “I was thinking, are you kidding me? So I just dropped down. I just said please, please, please, I want to make it out.
“And when I did, I saw people shot. I saw blood. You hope and pray you don’t get shot.”
It comes after star of The Voice, Christina Grimmie was shot dead by a deranged fan as she performed at the Plaze Live venue in the city on Friday.
