Tag: orlando massacre

US Senate rejects gun control measures after Orlando

by Ivan Couronne WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Following the Orlando club massacre, the Republican-controlled US Senate voted down four measures Monday aimed at reducing gun violence, confirmation of the issue’s toxicity especially during 2016’s heated election climate. With a month to go before Republicans and Democrats formally nominate their White House hopefuls, lawmakers failed to cross the aisle and compromise on one of the most sensitive hot-button issues in America. Senators, nevertheless seeking to […]

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Under pressure, senators formulate gun control compromise

(Reuters) Some Republican senators tried on Friday to craft a compromise bill to impose limited gun restrictions in the face of pressure from Democrats and public rage over the Orlando mass shooting, the deadliest in modern U.S. history. A gunman killed 49 people at the Orlando, Florida, gay nightclub last Sunday, sparking a scramble over competing gun measures in the U.S. Senate. While past gun-control measures have failed to clear Congress, the massacre, coupled with […]

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As Trump hints on guns, Congress eyes post-Orlando debate

by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — With US Democrats demanding action Wednesday to reduce violence following the Orlando massacre, Republican Donald Trump signaled openness to legislation preventing terror suspects from purchasing firearms, a flicker of bipartisanship in a toxic presidential campaign. The presumptive Republican nominee, who regularly touts his support for the constitutionally enshrined right to bear arms, said he could support banning people on terror watchlists from buying guns. Following attacks including […]

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Wife of Orlando shooter knew of attack, could face charges – source

(Reuters) The wife of the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando gay nightclub knew of his plans for the attack and could soon be charged in connection with the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, a law enforcement source said on Tuesday. The source told Reuters that a federal grand jury had been convened and could charge Omar Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, as early as Wednesday. “It appears she had some knowledge […]

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No direct link between shooter, IS militants: officials

(Reuters) U.S. authorities said on Monday they had found no direct links between Islamic State militants and the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, describing him as a homegrown extremist who was inspired by radical Islamist groups. The FBI and other agencies were still looking at evidence inside the club and on the closed-off streets around the Pulse nightclub, where New York-born Omar Mateen perpetrated the worst mass shooting in […]

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Gunfire, hostages, violent end: how the Orlando massacre unfolded

    ORLANDO, United States (AFP) — The following is a description of the deadly shooting rampage that unfolded at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub early Sunday, where 49 people were shot dead and 53 others were wounded, according to police and witness accounts. Gunman Omar Mateen was killed in a shootout with police.   Closing time: shooter on the scene– Just after 2:00 am as the club was closing, Mateen, a 29-year-old American of Afghan descent, opens […]

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Trump calls for increased military response after Orlando shooting

  (REUTERS)  Donald Trump on Monday said the United States needs to increase its military response against Islamic State in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting over the weekend, including additional bombings. The presumptive Republican nominee, in an interview on Fox News, said that he would address acts of terrorism in his speech at 2 p.m. EDT in New Hampshire, which he had earlier planned to use to target Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. […]

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Tony Awards dedicates ceremony to Orlando victims

  (AFP)  The Tony Awards, which honor the best of Broadway, opened in New York on Sunday dedicated to victims of the Orlando massacre, the deadliest terror attack in America since September 11, 2001. Fifty people died when a heavily-armed gunman opened fire and seized hostages at a popular gay nightclub in the Florida city before the attack was shot dead by a police SWAT team. “Our hearts go out to all of those affected […]

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Father of Orlando shooter hosted political show on Afghan-Pakistan issues

(REUTERS)  The Afghan-born father of Omar Mateen, the man police identified as the gunman who killed 50 people at a packed gay nightclub in Florida on Sunday, is a fringe political commentator who rails against Pakistan and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Seddique Mateen, who public records indicate is the father of Omar Mateen, had an occasional television show on a U.S.-based Afghan satellite channel for about three years, and has continued to post political commentaries […]

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Gunman in worst U.S. massacre described as ‘quiet,’ with few friends

  (REUTERS) The photo from Omar Mateen’s high-school yearbook is hardly remarkable – a toothy, dimpled smile with a peach fuzz mustache below a mop of black hair. But his transformation from high-school football player to perpetrator of America’s worst mass shooting raises questions over whether authorities, and the security company where he worked, missed red flags over the depth of his apparent sympathies with Muslim extremists and whether the United States has a clear […]

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Obama calls Orlando nightclub shooting an attack on all Americans

  (Reuters)  President Barack Obama on Sunday described the worst mass shooting in U.S. history as “an act of terror” and “an act of hate,” saying the massacre of 50 people at a packed gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida was an attack on all Americans. “Today as Americans we grieve the brutal murder, a horrific massacre of dozens of innocent people,” he said in a statement at the White House. “Although it is still early […]

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Trump calls on President Obama to resign in wake of Orlando shooting

  (Reuters) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called on President Barack Obama to resign from office because he did not say the words “radical Islam,” in a statement in response to the Orlando massacre where 50 people were killed. “Because our leaders are weak, I said this was going to happen – and it is only going to get worse,” Trump said in a statement. “I am trying to save lives and prevent the next […]

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