In case anyone still hasn't heard about the latest terrorist attack:
An American-born man who'd pledged allegiance to ISIS gunned down 49 people early Sunday at a gay nightclub in Orlando, the deadliest mass shooting in the United States and the nation's worst terror attack since 9/11, authorities said.
* The gunman, Omar Mateen, 29, of Fort Pierce, Florida, was interviewed by the FBI in 2013 and 2014 but was not found to be a threat, the FBI said.
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* Mateen called 911 during the attack to pledge allegiance to ISIS and mentioned the Boston Marathon bombers, according to a U.S. official.
* Orlando police shot and killed Mateen.
* Mateen's ex-wife said she thinks he was mentally ill.
Mateen carried an assault rifle and a pistol into the packed Pulse club about 2 a.m. Sunday and started shooting, killing 49 people and wounding at least 53, officials said.
After a standoff of about three hours, while people trapped inside the club desperately called and messaged friends and relatives, police crashed into the building with an armored vehicle and stun grenades and killed Mateen.
GoFundMe to support victims: [MEDIA=gofundme]PulseVictimsFund[/MEDIA]
Timeline of the Attack
Before 2 a.m. Omar Mateen, a resident of Fort Pierce, a city about 120 miles from Orlando, parked his van outside Pulse, a gay nightclub.
2:02 a.m. He entered the club armed with an AR-15-type assault rifle, a handgun and many rounds of ammunition, and opened fire, said John Mina, the Orlando police chief.
The New York Times; photograph by Chris O'Meara/Associated Press
The gunman went outside at some point after the initial shots were fired, the chief said, then went back inside.
Restrooms Some patrons hid in restrooms, calling police and texting friends and family for help. At some point, police received word from inside the building that at least 15 people were hiding in a restroom.
Patio Ray Rivera, 42, a D.J. at the club, was playing reggae music on the patio when the shooting started. “I thought it was firecrackers,” Mr. Rivera said. But the gunfire did not let up. “I saw bodies on the floor, people on the floor everywhere,” he said.
Main entrance Security was posted at the front entrance, and it is unclear how the gunman entered the club.
Main dance floor Latin music was playing on the main dance floor. The nightclub, which calls itself “Orlando’s Latin Hotspot,” was holding its weekly “Upscale Latin Saturdays” party with three D.J.s and a midnight show.
DeAngelo Scott, 30, said the club was packed. “Every room I went into was full. I had to squeeze through the main room.” He left the club at 1:58 a.m.
Then police marshaled forces, bringing in a SWAT team and an armored vehicle. At some point, Chief Mina said, there was contact with the gunman inside. “There was some communication, but we are not going to release that right now,” the chief said.
It is unknown, he said, whether the gunman was killing others inside the club as the authorities prepared for a confrontation.
“Any time we have a hostage situation, we’re definitely going to use extreme measures to make sure we have enough personnel on the scene,” Chief Mina said.
3 a.m. The club posted a warning on Facebook.
5 a.m. The police began an operation to rescue the people trapped inside. They detonated two explosives to distract the gunman. Eleven officers entered the club, and shots were exchanged. Mr. Mateen was killed. One officer was shot in the head, but his Kevlar helmet prevented serious injury, Chief Mina said. At least 30 people were found alive.