People lined up for hours in sweltering heat to donate blood to the victims: President Barack Obama delivered a heartfelt speech from the White House, calling the shooting an “act of terror and hate.” Watch the whole speech here.Īmerican-Muslim leaders like Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the attack and said their group has no tolerance of extremism of any kind. If you cannot donate blood, then they are asking for juice and water. This is the fastest and most successful campaign on the website.īlood banks in the area are asking for blood to be donated in their locations instead of local hospitals. They have received $1.57 million already with more than 39,000 people having donated.
How to HelpĪn LGBT group called Equality Florida established a fundraising page on GoFundMe to support the victims. Landmarks in Sydney, One World Trade Center in New York City lit up in rainbow colors to show solidarity while structures like the Empire State Building went dark for the same.
People from across the world are unifying and showing support not just to Orlando and the victims, but to all members of the LGBT community. The attack comes during LGBTQ pride month. As of Monday, 43 of the 53 people injured remain hospitalized with six of them being scheduled to operate.įollow the Orlando police here for more updates. More names will be released as the victim’s families are notified. VictimsĪccording to NBC News, 36 of the 49 victims have been identified as of early Monday morning: The AR-15 semi-automatic that he used is the same weapon used in the Sandy Hook school shooting which killed several first-graders, the shooting spree for movie-goers watching “Batman” at a Colorado theater, and the San Bernardino shooting last year. Gun-control advocates are pointing out how easy it was for Mateen, who was investigated by the FBI, to purchase a gun and then simply walk into a club and start shooting people. Mateen placed a 911 call before entering the club and swore fealty to ISIS and mentioned the Boston marathon bombers, Tsarnaev brothers. With the deaths of 49 people and 53 injured, this event is considered the United States’ worst terror attack since 9/11 and the deadliest mass shooting to date. His ex-wife Sitora Yusufiy said, “to be in some way affiliated, at one point in my life, to somebody that caused such a tragedy - it shook me off the ground and it’s going to take a while to process.” 3. The police are investigating to see if the family knew of his intentions. Siddique Mir Mateen, Omar’s father, said that the killing was not because of Islam but suggested that when his son saw two men kissing in Miami he became enraged.
He legally purchased the assault rifle and pistol, which he used for the shooting, last week. He was previously investigated by the FBI in 20 but the investigations were closed. He was shot and killed by the Orlando police. Chilling post by #PulseNightclub on FB after gunman opened fire overnight, killing at least 20.