Orlando attack: why was gunman able to buy weapons?
With fewer than half the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting identified, questions have mounted over how gunman Omar Mateen was able to buy weapons despite having been investigated twice by the FBI for suspected terrorist sympathies. Mateen, 29, a US citizen of Afghan heritage, launched the three-hour attack, which left 50 people dead and 53 injured, early on Sunday using a legally purchased 223-caliber assault rifle and 9mm semi-automatic pistol with multiple rounds of ammunition. Twenty minutes into the assault, he called 911 to declare his sympathies to Islamic State. Mateen worked as a courthouse security guard in Port St Lucie, Florida. Former wife Sitora Yusifiy said Mateen was “mentally unstable and mentally ill [and] obviously disturbed, deeply, and traumatized”.
Pulse nightclub massacre: questions over how suspect on FBI’s radar could buy guns
Attacks condemned; vigils held
Barack Obama called the worst mass shooting in US history “an act of terror and an act of hate”, describing it as “an especially heartbreaking day for all of our friends and fellow Americans who are lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual”. They had gone to the club “to be with friends, dancing and singing”, he said. Vigils were held in LGBT communities across the US and at the Tony awards, host James Corden said “hate will never win”. Stars from the hit show Hamilton left revolutionary era muskets out of their performance.
Orlando: Obama condemns ‘act of terror’ after worst mass shooting in US history
Victims identified
Those killed included a toy store brand manager, a man described as a “kind but sassy friend”, and travel agent Edward Sotomayor, 34, who was described by employer Al Ferguson as someone who refused to live in fear. “He was a person who said, ‘We cannot be afraid,’” Ferguson told the Orlando Sentinel. “I know his friends are going to be the exact same way … We are not going to be afraid.”
Orlando Victims: travel agent, brand manager and technician among dead
The assault: ‘the shots wouldn’t stop’
With horrifying detail, survivors of the Pulse nightclub attack described how they initially failed to believe the noise of the shots was anything out of the ordinary. “You’re sitting there having a great time at a club and you hear what sounds like fireworks and balloons popping, and you assume it’s part of the show,” said one. “And then you hear people start screaming, the sound doesn’t stop and people start falling, you realize it’s not a show any more. People were screaming and falling and the shots wouldn’t stop. You realize it’s not the celebration you thought it was.”
Orlando survivors: ‘people were screaming and falling, the shots wouldn’t stop’
Communications from club reveal terror within
The mother of one confirmed victim, Eddie Justice, 30, revealed her anguish after receiving messages from her son when he was trapped inside the nightclub. “Mommy I love you,” the first message said. It was 2:06am. “In club they shooting.” At 2:07am he texted: “Trapp in bathroom.” After she asked which club, responded: “Pulse. Downtown. Call police.” Then at 2:08am he said: “I’m gonna die.”
‘He’s coming. I’m gonna die’: Orlando terror revealed in son’s text to mother
Presidential candidates refocus
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are preparing to remake scheduled speeches to focus on the overlapping but highly charged questions of terrorism, gun control, hate crime and Islamic-inspired extremism. With a stunning lack of emotional calibration, Trump thanked Twitter followers for their “congrats” and called on Obama to step down and Clinton to get out of the race for not using the term “radical Islam” in their comments on Sunday.
Orlando shootings: Trump and Clinton refocus campaigns after massacre
Opinion: Orlando shooting exposes America’s fault lines
“America’s political class will pick through the wreckage of the heinous events in Orlando and try to frame the tragedy in a way that suits their agenda,” predicts columnist Gary Young. “Those who hoped a tragedy of this nature might be extracted from partisan politics will be sorely disappointed.”
Orlando shooting exposes so many of America’s faultlines
Opinion: Pro-gun hysteria, the south and Orlando
David Ferguson writes that he would “like to believe that we’ll learn something from this, but in truth, the thing I think we’re mostly likely to learn is that when we’re in public – especially in previously safe spaces like gay bars and churches – we need to keep one eye constantly on the nearest exit and always be ready to run.”
Here in the south, pro-gun hysteria is the norm. In Orlando, we see the results
In other news…
The South African athlete Oscar Pistorious has appeared for sentencing, after his trial for the homicide of girlfriend Reena Steenkamp; Peabody Energy, America’s biggest coalmining company, has funded at least two dozen groups that cast doubt on manmade climate change and oppose environment regulations; and in court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant plan to testify that they never heard the Spirit track claimed as the basis for Stairway to Heaven.
Hamilton wins big at Tony awards
The all-conquering musical Hamilton dominated with 11 awards in New York on Sunday night. The ceremony was overshadowed by the Orlando massacre. Host James Corden said: “All we can say is you are not on your own right now; your tragedy is our tragedy.”
Penguins win Stanley Cup; Brazil out of Copa
The Pittsburgh Penguins silenced their detractors through one of the more one-sided Stanley Cup Finals in recent memory, writes Joshua Kloke. In soccer, Peru benefited from an apparent handball for their first win over Brazil in 31 years. Replays clearly showed Peru’s Raúl Ruidíaz handled the ball into the net for the game’s only goal, in the 75th minute.
