The gunman, identified as Omar Mateen, 29, an American citizen whose parents are from Afghanistan, called emergency services shortly after entering the club and pledged allegiance to Islamic State, officials said, according to The Washington Post. Holding some of the club's patrons hostage for three hours as he spoke with authorities on the phone, Mateen pledged allegiance to IS. By 5am the police moved in, freeing some hostages in the violent conclusion to the siege. Omar Mateen killed 49 people at Pulse nightclub before he was shot dead by police. Credit:Myspace President Barack Obama described the mass shooting as "an act of terror" and "an act of hate", saying it was an attack on all Americans. Mateen had been interviewed by authorities at least three times since 2013 over comments he made regarding radical Islam and possible connections to Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, an American who carried out a suicide bombing in Syria, US media reported. Mateen's father, Mir Seddique, told NBC News his son had become angry a couple of months ago when he saw two men kissing in Miami, and he believed that could be related to the shooting.

"We are saying we are apologising for the whole incident. We weren't aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country," Seddique said. Police officers direct people away from the nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Credit:AP Omar Mateen Investigators said they "have suggestions the individual has leanings towards [Islamic terrorism], but right now we can't say definitely," said Ron Hopper, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Orlando bureau. The shooting raised fresh alarm about the ability of overseas terrorists to wreak havoc on US soil. But it also ignited fears of a broader campaign against the American gay, lesbian and transgender community as the first anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision legalising same-sex marriage approaches. In Washington, police stepped up patrols ahead of the Capital Pride Festival, one of dozens of gay pride events scheduled this month across the nation and around the world.

Huge holes were blown out of the side of the nightclub by police during the shooting. Credit:AP It later emerged that Seddique hosts a TV show in which he has spoken of support for the Taliban. In a recent video from the Durand Jirga Show on a channel called Payam-e-Afghan, Seddique appears to portray himself as president of Afghanistan. Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer declared a state of emergency on Sunday morning. Law enforcement officials work at the Pulse nightclub following the massacre on Sunday. Credit:AP The gunman was found dead inside the Pulse nightclub, one of the largest in Orlando, about 5am after a shootout with the police, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said.

The shooting began inside the club, the chief said, and continued outside when an officer working at Pulse attempted to confront him. The gunman then went back into the club, resumed shooting and took hostages. Omar Mateen photo taken from his myspace page. Credit:Myspace At 5am, Chief Mina said, the police decided to rescue the hostages. They broke down a door with an armoured vehicle and detonated a "controlled explosion", helping about 30 patrons flee to safety. At least nine officers were involved in the shooting with the gunman. One of them was slightly injured, the authorities said. Grieving friends and family of victims of the mass shooting. Credit:Joe Burbank

"It's just shocking," Christopher Hansen, who was inside Pulse, told CNN. 'Bodies going down' Hansen was getting a drink at the bar when he "just saw bodies going down," he said. Angel Mendez, outside the Orlando Regional Medical Centre, holds up a phone photo trying to get information about his brother Jean C. Mendez who was at the Pulse Nightclub. Credit:John Raoux He said the gunshots, "just one after another after another, could have lasted a whole song".

When the shots erupted, he dropped to the ground and was crawling on his elbows and knees, before he spotted a man who had been shot. The Facebook post instructing people to "get out". Credit:Facebook "I took my bandanna off and shoved it in the hole in his back," Hansen said, adding that he saw another woman who appeared to be shot in the arm. Carmen Pena, 30, said he was inside the club, in the same room with the gunman, when the shooting began.



"I know that he was in the room, because I heard a woman screaming, and then all of a sudden she stopped," Pena told People Magazine. The helmet an officer in Orlando police department was wearing when responding to the shooting. Credit:AP

"The gunshots were so loud. It felt like they were right next to my ears. Every second, I thought I was going to be hit." The political fallout The mass slaughter comes in the middle of a heated US presidential election. Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has advocated a ban on Muslim immigration to the US, crowed that the nightclub attack vindicated his position.

"Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance," Trump tweeted. "We must be smart!" Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who has pledged to tighten up gun control, said the attack "reminds us once more that weapons of war have no place on our streets." She also described the attack as an "act of terror" as well as "an act of hate" against the lesbian gay bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. 'Mass casualty' event

The police called it a "mass casualty" event. The wounded were taken to three area hospitals. The shooting was described as a "domestic terror incident" by Sheriff Jerry Demings. The shooter was carrying an assault rifle and a handgun, and wearing what Chief Mina described as "some type of device". During the attack, a message on a Facebook account for the Pulse club instructed "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running" several hours ago.

Emergency vehicles descended on the area of the Florida city, as patrons of the club posted frantic warnings online. One witness heard "what sounded like a semi-automatic firearm inside the nightclub, and outside the south Orlando venue from a vehicle". The man, Anthony Torres, told the Daily News: "We were just leaving the club and we started hearing the shots". "Everyone was running and screaming."