A gunman killed 50 people and injured at least 53 others on Saturday after storming a gay nightclub in Florida in a suspected act of terrorism.

The 'lone' attacker, identified as Omar Mateen, 29, entered Orlando's Pulse club shortly before 2am local time (6am GMT), where hundreds of revellers were partying.

Armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, he then took terrified victims hostage before opening fire, showering the venue in a hail of bullets.

Catch up with the latest from Orlando on today's blog here

This evening, Orlando Police started to release the names of those who died in the attack.

Among those killed were Edward Sotomayor Jr, Stanley Almodovar III, Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, Juan Ramon Guerrero, Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera and Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz.

Scroll down for Saturday's updates.