Fox News has this breaking story:
A gunman who federal authorities say had possible ties to terrorism opened fire early Sunday morning in a packed Orlando nightclub, killing 50 people and wounding at least 53 more in a bloody scene that ended hours later when police stormed the building and killed the shooter.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer asked Gov. Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency following the attack.
The gunman was identified as Omar Mateen, Rep. Alan Grayson said during a Sunday morning press conference. Mateen was a U.S. citizen, Grayson said, though that was “not true of other family members of his.” Mateen, 29, lived in Fort Pierce, Fla. He was born in the U.S. to parents of Afghan origin and was a Muslim, Fox News confirmed.
Authorities were going through Mateen’s belongings on Sunday morning trying to identify a motive for the attack, Grayson said.
“More likely than not, that it was an ideologically motivated attack,” Grayson said, though he said it was unclear if Mateen was linked to any terror groups.