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Multiple people were shot at a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday, according to police, who urged people to stay away from the area.
Many emergency vehicles responded to the scene, according to media reports. Orange County Fire and Rescue called for gurneys to move victims from the club.
WESH-TV reported that several victims were loaded into ambulances outside Pulse, which is located off Orange Avenue and Kaley Street south of downtown, and a crisis negotiator was at the scene.
There was no immediate information on how many people were shot or what their conditions were.
The Orlando Fire Department called for its bomb squad and hazardous material team to the scene after 3 a.m. ET. Police K-9 dogs searched the area around nearby Orlando Regional Medical Center with an armed deputy in head-to-toe military gear.
WESH-TV also reported police were searching for a suspect or suspects.
Police responded at 2:02 a.m. to the nightclub, according to Orlando Police Department’s calls for service log. Another call was made for backup minutes later.
RT.com reported there were hostages taken, but that report may have referred to people hiding from the gunman or gunmen.
Pulse Orlando posted to its Facebook page: "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running."
Ali Kurnaz, 25, told USA TODAY he was working in his living room about a block from the nightclub when he heard multiple gunshots from outside.
"I could hear multiple rounds of gunfire to the point where it scared my cats," Kurnaz said. "They came running a different room."
Kurnaz said he heard sirens as multiple police cars headed to the crime scene. He still could hear the helicopters flying over his neighborhood.
In some tweets appearing to come from inside Pulse nightclub, people said they were hiding.
Twitter users also said they heard multiple gunshots.
The shooting at Pulse came just one day after The Voice star Christina Grimmie was shot and killed after a concert Friday night at the Plaza Live Theater in Orlando.
The gunman suspected in Grimmie's murder was identified as Kevin James Loibl, 27, of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Many emergency vehicles responded to the scene, according to media reports. Orange County Fire and Rescue called for gurneys to move victims from the club.
WESH-TV reported that several victims were loaded into ambulances outside Pulse, which is located off Orange Avenue and Kaley Street south of downtown, and a crisis negotiator was at the scene.
There was no immediate information on how many people were shot or what their conditions were.
The Orlando Fire Department called for its bomb squad and hazardous material team to the scene after 3 a.m. ET. Police K-9 dogs searched the area around nearby Orlando Regional Medical Center with an armed deputy in head-to-toe military gear.
WESH-TV also reported police were searching for a suspect or suspects.
Police responded at 2:02 a.m. to the nightclub, according to Orlando Police Department’s calls for service log. Another call was made for backup minutes later.
RT.com reported there were hostages taken, but that report may have referred to people hiding from the gunman or gunmen.
Pulse Orlando posted to its Facebook page: "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running."
Ali Kurnaz, 25, told USA TODAY he was working in his living room about a block from the nightclub when he heard multiple gunshots from outside.
"I could hear multiple rounds of gunfire to the point where it scared my cats," Kurnaz said. "They came running a different room."
Kurnaz said he heard sirens as multiple police cars headed to the crime scene. He still could hear the helicopters flying over his neighborhood.
In some tweets appearing to come from inside Pulse nightclub, people said they were hiding.
Twitter users also said they heard multiple gunshots.
The shooting at Pulse came just one day after The Voice star Christina Grimmie was shot and killed after a concert Friday night at the Plaza Live Theater in Orlando.
The gunman suspected in Grimmie's murder was identified as Kevin James Loibl, 27, of St. Petersburg, Fla.
There are conflicting reports flying all over the place right now, which is pretty typical in a situation like this, especially when most of the major US media networks were all off-air and most residents asleep when the shooting happened.
Early twitter reports from patrons (which shouldn't be too heavily relied upon given the inaccuracy that often comes with eyewitness testimony) at the club reported all sorts of crazy **** from multiple shooters to a dude with a bomb. Also conflicting reports regarding the total body count, with most estimates on twitter ranging anywhere from 9 to 54.
Given the fact that it's a gay club, there's already speculation of this being a deliberate attempt to kill as many ****sexuals as possible.
I'd recommend checking in on your preferred news networks to keep up to date on the story. I'll check back in the afternoon to see how the official story unfolds after all of this hype and hysteria dies down.
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