The man who killed 49 people at Pulse nightclub Orlando was a regular patron of gay clubs Florida for years, classmat, iends and club employe told ABC News.
Contents:
- AT LEAST 50 DEAD ORLANDO GAY CLUB SHOOTG, SPECT PLEDGED ALLEGIANCE TO ISIS, OFFICIALS SAY
- 50 AD, ISLAMIC TERRORISM TIE EYED ORLANDO GAY BAR SHOOTG
- FLORIDA PULSE GAY CLUB ATTACKED ORLANDO - AT LEAST 20 AD
- WNS SAY ORLANDO SHOOTER AT GAY CLUBS ON A REGULAR BASIS
- ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: MASS CASUALTI AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE GAY CLUB
AT LEAST 50 DEAD ORLANDO GAY CLUB SHOOTG, SPECT PLEDGED ALLEGIANCE TO ISIS, OFFICIALS SAY
Sunday's massacre at a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, grimly changed the equatn, stirrg munal fears and swiftly promptg tighter secury at gay pri events * shooting in orlando gay club *
But this week, the cy is also memorializg a years ago today, a gunman opened fire Pulse nightclub, a gay club Orlando, killg 49 people and woundg more than 50. — -- The massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub early this morng has been scribed as a "domtic terror cint, " wh at least 50 ad and 53 jured, officials said, makg the worst mass shootg U. Orlando police tweeted, "The shooter si the nightclub is ad, " referrg to Pulse Nightclub, which bills self on s webse as "Orlando's Premier Gay Night Club.
"It's no cince the attack took place where did and when did, " he said reference to the fact that Pulse was a gay nightclub. The shootg Sce s openg 2004, Orlando’s Pulse dance club had tablished self as one of central Florida’s most vibrant centr for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ) social life.
Police say a mass shootg at a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, has rulted at least 20 people ad, wh dozens more wound. Gay nightclub.
50 AD, ISLAMIC TERRORISM TIE EYED ORLANDO GAY BAR SHOOTG
At least 20 people are killed and more than 42 hurt a shootg scribed as an act of terrorism at a gay nightclub the Florida cy of Orlando. * shooting in orlando gay club *
- A shootg and hostage suatn early Sunday at a Florida nightclub -- which scrib self as "Orlando's hottt gay bar" -- left an timated 50 people ad, cludg the gunman, and more than 50 jured, officials say. NEW YORK -- The gay, lbian and transgenr muny has seen vlence before, om Harvey Milk to Matthew Shepard, and an ever-lengtheng list of transgenr women. Sunday's massacre at a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, grimly changed the equatn, stirrg munal fears and swiftly promptg tighter secury at gay pri events.
This "is a tragic illtratn of the legimate safety fears that those our LGBT muny live wh every day, " said Mike Rawlg, the mayor of Dallas, where extra police were assigned to a neighborhood that is a hub of the lol gay muny. In a separate cint Sunday, a heavily armed man was arrted Southern California even as Mateen's attack was ongog, tellg police he was on his way to attack a gay pri Jam Wley, of Indiana, had asslt rifl, ammunn and chemils that uld be ed to make an explosive, acrdg to police, who said there was no evince of a nnectn to the Orlando massacre. Before Sunday, the most proment cints of vlence agast gays claimed one life at a time.
The hight profile of the clud the murr of Milk, a pneerg gay polician San Francis 1978, and the 1998 murr of Shepard, a gay llege stunt Wyomg at the hands of two men who beat him to a a while he was tied to a fence. "There have been a few prev attacks on gay nightclubs, but only one that ed a signifint number of aths. 31, 2013, about 750 people were celebratg New Year's Eve at Neighbours, a popular gay nightclub Seattle, when Mab Masmari poured gasole on a rpeted stairway and set ablaze.
FLORIDA PULSE GAY CLUB ATTACKED ORLANDO - AT LEAST 20 AD
* shooting in orlando gay club *
Robert Matenc, who works as a host at Neighbours, said the club rpond to the arson attack by addg extra secury guards durg large special events, and trag employe crowd 's attack stck a place that has long been thought of as a safe haven for the muny -- the gay nightclub.
"Nightclubs have always been sacred spac for queer people, plac to gather and glter away om the judgg glar of society, where we uld love and be loved for who we are and how we want to be, " wrote Pl Rshenbh, a clergyman and popular gay wrer, exprsg his heartbreak a lengthy, emotnal post on Facebook which he relled gog out dancg while at semary New many ci, vigils were planned at LGBT muny centers and other gatherg spots to memorate the victims New York Cy, LGBT people and their alli nverged on the Stonewall Inn Greenwich Village spontaneo reactn to the shootg. The Manhattan bar beme a natnal symbol of gay rights after a 1969 police raid led to vlent street ont of the red brick faça, Cameron Cano stood proudly wh a rabow flag draped over her shoulrs. Stonewall is "where we go when thgs like this happen, " said Andy Humm, host of the "Gay USA" TV gay bars add secury measur, or nsired dog so the aftermath of the Orlando attack.
"We have a lot of nightclubs that are gay nightclubs, " Evans said. "At eagleBOLT, a gay bar Mneapolis, patrons watched big-screen TVs silence as Print Barack Obama nounced the Orlando shootg as an "act of terror.
WNS SAY ORLANDO SHOOTER AT GAY CLUBS ON A REGULAR BASIS
At least 50 people are ad and more than 50 others are wound after a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub Orlando, early Sunday morng. * shooting in orlando gay club *
Pl, Mnota, said he to gay bars to relax. Media ptn, Eyewns Anthony Torr fled the scene and filmed as he watched people shootg "back and forth"At least 20 people have been killed and some 42 jured a shootg at a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, police say. "Some of the jured were reportedly brought to the Orlando Regnal Medil Center police source, APImage ptn, SWAT officers were at the scene of the shootgImage source, Orlando PoliceMore than 100 people were reported to have been enjoyg the end of a Lat-themed night the club, which lls self the hottt gay bar the cy, when the attack began.
— -- The man who killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub Orlando, Omar Mateen, was a regular patron of gay clubs Florida for years, club employe, acquatanc and former classmat told ABC News. ”FBI agents are hearg acunts of Omar Mateen’s prence at gay clubs gog back years.
ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: MASS CASUALTI AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE GAY CLUB
A former classmate at a police amy — who requted he not be intified — told ABC News that Mateen hung out wh him and others, equentg Florida gay bars while they were at the Indian River State College trag program, as far back as night, he said, Mateen asked him if he was gay. Employe and patrons at Pulse told ABC News that Mateen went to the bar on a regular Callen, a performer at the club, said Mateen “didn’t seem homophobic to me. Another Florida man, Kev Wt, told ABC News’ Hoton affiliate, KTRK, that he was ntacted by Mateen on a gay datg app.
What clubs are poppg and thgs of that sort and what are good plac to go, ” Wt purported behavr appears severely at odds wh how Mateen said he felt about gay people, acrdg to his ex-wife, Sora Yufiy, who was married to Mateen briefly 2009.