This undated image shows Omar Mateen, who authorities say killed dozens of people inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday, June 12, 2016. The gunman opened fire inside the crowded gay nightclub... (Associated Press) 
 
 FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — Like many other young American men, Omar Mateen worked a series of unremarkable jobs during and after high school — a Publix grocery store, Circuit City, Chick-Fil-A and Walgreens. 
 
 He graduated in 2003 and jumped through a series of jobs related to nutrition and health, working at Nutrition World, Gold's Gym and a GNC store. 
 
 He worked for six months at a state prison. And an early marriage faltered. 
 
 But eventually he found some form of stability with a job as a security guard in South Florida, where he was still working when he stormed a gay nightclub early Sunday in Orlando, resulting in the deaths of 49 people and the wounding of 53 more. He died in a gunfight with police. 
 
 It remained unclear exactly why Mateen targeted the club. However, one patron told The Orlando Sentinel he saw Mateen drinking at the bar several times before the shooting. Ty Smith said he saw Mateen inside at least a dozen times. 
 
 "Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent," Smith said. 
 
 Mateen, 29, spent most of his childhood on Florida's Atlantic coast and lived there as an adult, not far from his parents. Born in the New York City borough of Queens in 1986, he moved with his family to the Long Island town of Westbury two years later and then in 1991 to Port Saint Lucie, Florida, about 125 miles southeast of Orlando. 
 
 Imam Syed Shafeeq Rahman of the city's Islamic Center said he knew Mateen and his family since the shooter was a boy and never saw any signs of violence in him. The Orlando attack, he said, "was totally unexpected." 
 
 But one colleague at the security contractor G4S, his most recent employer, remembered the son of Afghan immigrants as an angry, profane co-worker who used slurs and threatened violence. 
 
 Daniel Gilroy said Mateen started badgering him and sending dozens of text messages to him daily, and that he reported Mateen's behavior to his bosses. 
 
 "I kind of feel a little guilty that I didn't fight harder," Gilroy said. "If I didn't walk away and I fought, then maybe 50 people would still be alive today." 
 
 Gilroy told multiple news outlets that Mateen routinely used slurs for gay people, blacks, Jews and women. 
 
 "He talked about killing people all the time," Gilroy told The New York Times. Of the massacre, Gilroy said, "I saw it coming." 
 
 G4S denied Gilroy's claims, saying in a statement Monday that it had no record of Gilroy ever making such a complaint to his superiors. Furthermore, the company said, Gilroy told officials shortly after leaving in June 2015: "The work and job assignments were respectful and co-workers were good men and women that put in an honest day's work and genuinely like to work as a team and contribute." 
 
 A woman who said she was once a neighbor of Mateen's said the security company assigned him to guard the back entrance of PGA Village, a golf resort in Port St. Lucie. Tricia Adorno said her children would sometimes play ball with Mateen's young son. 
 
 A spokesman for the St. Lucie County clerk of court said Mateen had once been assigned to the clerk's building and was issued a credential. Joseph Abreu said Mateen last used the credential to access the building in May 2013. 
 
 In a statement, G4S said Mateen had been subject to a detailed screening when he was recruited in 2007 and was re-screened in 2013 "with no adverse findings." 
 
 Mateen graduated with a degree in criminal-justice technology from Indian River Community College in 2006, the same year he changed his name from Omar Mir Seddique to Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, according to civil court records in St. Lucie County. The papers listed no reason for the name change. 
 
 His ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, said her former husband wanted to be a police officer and had applied to the police academy. 
 
 Florida Department of Corrections spokesman Alberto Moscoso said Mateen had worked at the Martin Correctional Institution in Indiantown, Florida, from Oct. 27, 2006, to April 27, 2007. 
 
 In September 2007, he was hired by G4S, a global security firm that has 610,000 employees in about 100 countries. 
 
 Yusufiy told reporters in Boulder, Colorado, that she believed Mateen suffered from mental illness. 
 
 Although records show the couple didn't divorce for two years after their 2009 marriage, Yusiufiy said she was actually with Mateen for only four months because he was abusive. She said he would not let her speak to her family and that family members had to come literally pull her out of his arms. 
 
 Divorce papers reveal that Mateen made $1,600 a month working for G4S and that she earned $3,000 a month as a real estate agent. 
 
 It's unclear when Mateen married his second wife, Noor Salman, but an Aug. 30, 2013, property deed in Saint Lucie County identified them as a married couple. 
 
 Family members said the pair had a young son about 3 years old. 
 
 On Monday, the FBI said Mateen appeared to be a "homegrown extremist" who espoused support for a jumble of often-conflicting Islamic radical groups. During the attack, he called 911 to profess allegiance to the Islamic State group. 
 
 FBI Director James Comey said Mateen was clearly "radicalized," at least in part via the internet. 
 
 The FBI became aware of him in 2013 when co-workers reported that he claimed to have family connections to al-Qaida and to be a member of Hezbollah, too, Comey said. 
 
 The agency launched a 10-month preliminary investigation, following Mateen, reviewing his communications and questioning him, the FBI chief said. Mateen claimed he made the remarks in anger because co-workers were teasing him and discriminating against him as a Muslim. The FBI eventually closed the case, Comey said. 
 
 His name surfaced again as part of another investigation into a suicide bomber from the Syrian rebel group Nusra Front. The FBI found Mateen and the man had attended the same mosque and knew each other casually, but the investigation turned up "no ties of any consequence," Comey said. 
 
 Mateen purchased at least two firearms legally within the last week or so, according to Trevor Velinor of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 
 
 He attended evening prayer services at Port St. Lucie's Islamic Center three to four times a week, most recently with his son, Rahman said. The imam said he last saw Mateen on Friday. 
 
 "When he finished prayer, he would just leave," Rahman told The Associated Press. "He would not socialize with anybody. He would be quiet. He would be very peaceful." 
 
 On Monday, the shooter's father, Seddique Mir Mateen, said what his son did "was the act of a terrorist." 
 
 "I apologize for what my son did. I am as sad and mad as you guys are," he told reporters outside his home. He did not go into details about his son's religious or political views, insisting he did not know. 
 
 Asked whether he missed his son, the father said: "I don't miss anything about him. What he did was against humanity." 
 
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 Weiss reported from Charlotte, North Carolina. AP writer Brendan Farrington contributed to this report. 
 
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 This story has been corrected to show that Gilroy, not Mateen, made the statement to the company about respectful workers. ||||| Nearly one decade ago, Orlando mass killer Omar Mateen was fired from a briefly held job as a state corrections officer, newly released records show. 
 
 But exactly why remains unclear — and whatever led to his firing, it wasn’t enough to keep him from becoming a gun-wielding security guard just months later. 
 
 The state records show that Mateen passed a psychological exam to earn that firearms license. He was also a crack shot. His firearms tests showed he performed well in training, sometimes at the very Port St. Lucie gun range where he purchased the weapons used in Sunday’s Orlando nightclub massacre. 
 
 Those were the revelations in state records authorities released Wednesday documenting Mateen’s licenses to carry firearms and work as a security guard in Florida. 
 
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 The only blemish, the records show, is that Mateen’s firearms license was briefly suspended when he failed to submit paperwork to the state. 
 
 The documents shed some new details into the employment history of Mateen, 29, who worked for G4S Security Solutions for nearly nine years; the company was previously known as Wackenhut. 
 
 His history with the company has come under scrutiny since Mateen stormed the Pulse gay nightclub in downtown Orlando on Sunday, killing 49 people and wounding 53 in what was the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. 
 
 The FBI said that agents investigated Mateen in May 2013 after he made “inflammatory” comments while working security with G4S at the Port St. Lucie courthouse. Co-workers said he claimed family ties to the al-Qaida terror network. 
 
 A 10-month investigation yielded no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, and Mateen claimed he only made the statements because co-workers were teasing him about his Muslim faith. The feds also investigated him briefly in 2014 to see whether he had any ties to a Vero Beach suicide bomber who killed himself in Syria. 
 
 The records don’t reflect that the state ever knew he was investigated by the FBI. In his applications, he answered “no” to the question if he had ever been convicted of a crime. He had not. 
 
 Speaking on background, a G4S official said the FBI never raised any concerns about Mateen to the company. 
 
 But the company did know that agents had questioned Mateen — he himself “disclosed” it to a G4S lawyer as the company probed his claims of being harassed by his peers in 2013. As for the FBI investigation the following year, the company denies ever knowing about it. 
 
 Nevertheless, the company later moved him from the courthouse to a gated community, where he was not armed. 
 
 A former co-worker there, Daniel Gilroy, told the Miami Herald that he complained to no avail about Mateen’s virulent outbursts against gays and blacks. The company says it has no record of any complaints from Gilroy. 
 
 The U.S. born Indian River Community College graduate worked retail at gyms and nutrition stores and that short stint as a probationary officer “taking care of inmates” at the state’s Martin Correctional Institute. 
 
 The corrections records released Wednesday showed he was dismissed in May 2007 but don’t reveal why. A few months later, he caught on with GS4. He was approved after taking a 40-hour security-guard training program and 28 hours of firearms training. 
 
 Florida does not require a psychological evaluation to become a security guard, but does mandate one to carry a firearm as a security guard. G4S also conducts psychological evaluations for all of its guards. 
 
 Mateen’s driving record and credit also came back clean, the company official said. Mateen passed another criminal background check in 2013. 
 
 For his firearms licenses, Mateen — then 20 years old — was first evaluated psychologically in September 2007 on behalf of G4S. The psychologist who cleared him was listed as Dr. Carol Nudelman, then of South Miami. 
 
 Nudelman has been in the news before for evaluating a prospective G4S security guard who later turned to violence. In 1998, she passed Paul D. Ahern, who went on a shooting spree in Miami, killing two people and wounding a cop. 
 
 On Friday, Nudelman issued a statement saying her Florida practice had long since been closed, and she did not evaluate him. The company acknowledged Nudelman’s name on the “character certification” was a “clerical error,” and another doctor evaluated his test results. 
 
 The records show that over the years, Mateen received high marks on yearly shooting and written tests, eight of them in all. 
 
 Three of those tests took place at the St. Lucie Shooting Center, where federal authorities say Mateen bought the assault rifle and pistol he used in the massacre. His last visit was on Aug. 16, 2015. 
 
 The issue of screening of Florida security guards is a perennial source of scrutiny. 
 
 Last fall, Miami security guard Lukace Kendle was sentenced to life in prison for murder. He shot two unarmed men outside a strip club, killing one and paralyzing the other. After his arrest, he was twice found mentally incompetent by court-appointed psychologists. 
 
 In Mateen’s case, his state records were released as a host of media outlets, including the Miami Herald, have repeatedly asked the state to release Mateen’s 911 calls and other documents. 
 
 Mateen was likely inspired by Islamic extremism, according to the FBI and President Barack Obama, although there is no signs he acted on orders from anyone abroad. 
 
 The killer’s motives may have been more complicated — several club-goers have said that he himself was gay and frequented the club for months before the shooting. 
 
 Federal authorities and now a grand jury are weighing whether to charge Mateen’s wife, who acknowledged he had discussed targeting the club and Disney World. 
 
 In other developments on Wednesday: 
 
 ▪ The FBI urged people to report information about threats against mosques and Muslims in the wake of the killing. Special Agent Ron Hopper also asked citizens to report any past interactions with Mateen. 
 
 “No matter how big or small,” Hopper said. 
 
 ▪ Authorities opened the Orlando Family Assistance Center, located at the stadium commonly known as the Citrus Bowl. It’s a venue where family members can get help arranging funerals, securing room and board and getting grief counseling. 
 
 ▪ Central Florida leaders said they are preparing for a hate organization that is notorious for picketing funerals after high-profile tragedies. That group: the Westboro Baptist Church, which has drawn infamy for picketing funerals after national tragedies and displaying anti-gay messages. The group tweeted “Orlando Bound” after the shooting. 
 
 Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said police officers are on alert if the group shows up. 
 
 “It is a call for our entire community to rally behind what we believe — and that’s love and compassion,” Jacobs said. 
 
 ▪ News emerged that Mateen may have called a local TV news station during the shooting. According to News 13’s website, a TV producer named Matthw Gentili took a call from a man during the shooting. 
 
 “He did it for ISIS, and he started speaking Arabic,” Gentili told his station. “At the time, I didn't know what he was saying. He was speaking so fast.” 
 
 The man eventually hung up. ||||| Omar Mateen (MySpace) 
 
 Police are planning to arrest an alleged accomplice who helped gunman Omar Mateen carry out a mass shooting that killed at least 50 people and injured dozens more at an Orlando LGBT nightclub. 
 
 A top law enforcement source told WFTV-TV that the suspected accomplice would be arrested by Wednesday, but authorities did not release any additional details. 
 
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 The suspected accomplice is either in Florida or has ties to the state, the TV station reported. 
 
 The 29-year-old Mateen was killed in a shootout with police during the deadly rampage at Pulse nightclub. 
 
 Mateen worked as a security guard for G4S and had hoped to become a law enforcement officer, and former classmates at a police academy said he was socially awkward and apparently gay himself. 
 
 “We went to a few gay bars with him, and I was not out at the time, so I declined his offer,” said one former classmate at Indian River Community College. 
 
 The classmate said Mateen was not out, either, and other students felt sorry for him. 
 
 “He just wanted to fit in and no one liked him,” the classmate said. “He was always socially awkward.” 
 
 His father, Seddique Mir Mateen, has apologized for his son’s actions but said “God will punish those involved in homosexuality,” saying that was not a matter for humans to undertake. 
 
 The elder vehemently denied his son was gay. 
 
 “If he was gay, why would he do something like this?” Seddique Mateen asked. 
 
 Mateen married a woman he met online about eight years ago, and the couple had a son, but they divorced because he allegedly became abusive. 
 
 “He was not a stable person,” his ex-wife said. 
 
 Mateen, who was Muslim, became more religious after his divorce, and went several years ago on the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. 
 
 He claimed an allegiance to the Islamic State and was previously investigated by the FBI for ties to terrorism, although authorities still aren’t sure what links he had to terrorist groups. 
 
 But he continued going to gay bars and setting up profiles on gay dating apps — and was apparently a regular at Pulse. 
 
 At least four regular customers have identified Mateen as a regular at the LGBT club, saying he often drank alone there but sometimes became loud and belligerent. 
 
 One customer said Mateen threatened his friend with a knife. 
 
 Another customer said he exchanged messages with Mateen for about a year through the gay dating app Jack’d but never met him in person until he spotted him about 1 a.m. Sunday going into the club. 
 
 “He walked directly past me,” said Kevin West, who witnessed the deadly rampage. “I said, ‘Hey,’ and he turned and said, ‘Hey, and nodded his head. I could tell by the eyes.” ||||| Bomb disposal officers check for bombs at an apartment complex possibly linked to the fatal shootings at an Orlando nightclub, Sunday, June 12, 2016, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) (Associated Press) 
 
 Bomb disposal officers check for bombs at an apartment complex possibly linked to the fatal shootings at an Orlando nightclub, Sunday, June 12, 2016, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) (Associated Press) 
 
 ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on the shooting at an Orlando nightclub (all times local): 
 
 11:45 p.m. 
 
 Across the United States, people are gathering at vigils honoring the victims of a shooting attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left 50 people dead and 53 wounded. 
 
 In Miami Beach, mourners lit candles, embraced and waived rainbow flags Sunday evening. 
 
 Members of LGBT groups and their supporters met in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago. Among them was Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, who said the city has stepped up security in gay communities. Also there in solidarity were mothers who have lost their children to gun violence. 
 
 Hundreds of people in Austin, Texas, attended an evening vigil at the Capitol that included Muslim leaders and a Christian pastor, the Austin American-Statesman reported. 
 
 Several hundred people filled the parking lot of a popular LGBT-district bistro in downtown Atlanta, singing, lighting candles and speaking out against the violence that struck Orlando. Matt Garrett helped organize the event, handing out candles and lining up a series of speakers who would address the swelling crowd that spilled into the busy street. 
 
 Authorities say Omar Mateen opened fire early Sunday morning inside Pulse, a crowded nightclub. Mateen died in a gun battle with SWAT team members. 
 
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 9:00 p.m. 
 
 The ex-wife of the Orlando nightclub gunman says he was "mentally unstable and mentally ill." 
 
 Sitora Yusifiy, speaking to reporters in Boulder, Colorado, says Omar Mateen was bipolar and also had a history with steroids. 
 
 She says that in the four months they were together he cut her off from her family and regularly beat her. She says that her family visited her and saw she wasn't OK and rescued her from the situation. 
 
 Yusifiy says they literally pulled her out of his arms. She says she left all her belongings and has had no contact with him for seven or eight years. 
 
 She says Mateen was religious, but she saw no signs of radicalism. 
 
 Of the nightclub massacre she says, "there was no sign of any of this at all." 
 
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 8:50 p.m. 
 
 Officials have started removing bodies from inside an Orlando nightclub where 50 people were shot and killed. 
 
 Sunday night, workers brought four bodies on stretchers out of club Pulse and loaded them into white vans. The action was repeated over and over. 
 
 The bodies were then taken to the Orange County Medical Examiner's office. 
 
 Authorities say Omar Mateen opened fire at the nightclub, leaving 50 people dead and more than 50 others wounded before he was gunned down by police. 
 
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 7 p.m. 
 
 The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee tells The Associated Press that investigators have not yet found evidence of direct communication between the Orlando nightclub gunman and Islamic State members overseas. 
 
 Rep. Adam Schiff has been briefed multiple times by federal law enforcement. He says it is possible that Omar Mateen was self-radicalized but not "under the command and control of ISIS." 
 
 The California congressman says that could change and that it's too early to know whether there was something that could have been done to prevent the attack. 
 
 The FBI investigated Mateen in 2013 after he made inflammatory comments to co-workers alleging possible ties to terrorists. The following year, the agency looked into potential ties connecting Mateen to Moner Mohammad Abusalha, the first American to carry out a suicide attack in Syria. 
 
 He was cleared after both investigations. 
 
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 6:40 p.m. 
 
 Seattle's openly gay Mayor Ed Murray says that every time progress is made in the U.S., there's a blow back and an increase in gay lesbian bisexual transgender violence. 
 
 Murray made the remarks Sunday after a gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando leaving 50 people dead. 
 
 Murray says the massacre is absolutely an attempt at intimidation and fear. He says the community will come together and will not be intimidated. 
 
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 The father of the Orlando nightclub gunman has a television show on Payam-e-Afghan, a California-based channel that supports ethnic solidarity with the Afghan Taliban, which are mostly Pashtun. 
 
 Viewers from Pashtun communities in the United States regularly call in to espouse support for Pashtun domination of Afghanistan over the nation's minorities, including Hazaras, Tajiks and Uzbeks. 
 
 Seddique Mateen's "Durand Jirga Show" has an anti-Pakistan slant. The name of the show references the Durand line, the long-disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. 
 
 A former Afghan official said Seddique Mateen's show also expresses sympathy for the Taliban, complains about foreigners in Afghanistan and criticizes U.S. actions there. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity because he did not want to be linked to coverage of the shooting. 
 
 Seddique Mateen, who lavished praise on current Afghan President Ashraf Ghani when he appeared on the TV program in January 2014, has since denounced the Ghani government. The official said that on Saturday, Seddique Mateen, dressed in military fatigues, used his program to criticize the current Afghan government and announce that he would run in the next Afghan presidential election. 
 
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 6:10 p.m. 
 
 A woman whose cousin was shot at a gay Orlando nightclub says he is in critical condition at a hospital. 
 
 LaToya Hall says her cousin Keon Carter was in the Pulse club early Sunday when a gunman opened fire leaving 50 people dead and wounding about 50 others. 
 
 Hall says her cousin is alert at Orlando Regional Medical Center. She says he tried to hold her hand and turn his eyes to look at her. 
 
 Hall says many people are having trouble locating victims because they are being listed under fake names. 
 
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 5:20 p.m. 
 
 American Muslim leaders are condemning the attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando that killed 50 people and wounded more than 50 others. 
 
 Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called the killings a hate crime and said the group has no tolerance for extremism of any kind. 
 
 A law enforcement official has said the gunman, Omar Mateen, called 911 from the nightclub and expressed allegiance to an Islamic State leader. 
 
 Awad says members of the LGBT community have stood with Muslims in the past and today they stand that community. 
 
 ___ 
 
 TNT has postponed the season premiere of "The Last Ship" in the wake of the shooting in Orlando. 
 
 The show, which stars Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra and Adam Baldwin, is about a group of people who've survived a pandemic that killed 80 percent of the world's population. 
 
 The network says in a statement that its hearts are with the victims and their families. 
 
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 4:50 p.m. 
 
 About 100 people gathered in Paris for a spontaneous vigil at Place Igor Stravinsky to remember those slain and wounded at an Orlando nightclub. 
 
 Several people were draped in rainbow flags. They lit candles and took pictures as a person in head-to-toe fetish gear held up a sign saying "Proud." One woman carried a poster showing a ribbon with a rainbow on one side and an American flag on the other. 
 
 "To Orlando, we have love," it read. 
 
 Remi Perrenoud, 30, said the news hit him particularly hard because, like the victims, he had been out partying at a gay club Saturday night. 
 
 Ian Brossat, the capital's deputy mayor for housing, was at the vigil too. He says it seems important to mobilize to voice solidarity and to underline the fight against homophobia. 
 
 ___ 
 
 The Orlando mayor says of the 50 victims who died from the shooting at a gay nightclub, 39 were killed at the club and 11 people died at hospitals. 
 
 Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer says at first officers mistakenly thought the gunman had strapped explosives to the dead victims and that the club was booby-trapped. A bomb robot sent back images of a battery part next to a body. 
 
 Dyer says that held up paramedics from going in until it was determined it was something that fell out of an exit sign or a smoke detector. 
 
 The robot was sent in after SWAT team members put explosive charges on a wall and an armored vehicle knocked the wall down in an effort to rescue hostages. 
 
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 4:35 p.m. 
 
 A law enforcement official says the gunman who opened fire at a gay nightclub made a 911 call from the club, professing allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 
 
 The law enforcement official is familiar with the investigation but was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. 
 
 Authorities say Omar Mateen opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, leaving 50 people dead and wounding more than 50 others before he was gunned down by police. 
 
 It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Authorities were investigating the attack on the Florida dance club as an act of terrorism. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Afghanistan's president says he "strongly condemns" the attack on a Florida nightclub that killed at least 50 people. 
 
 President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement Sunday that "targeting civilians is not justifiable under any circumstances whatsoever." He offered his condolences to President Barack Obama, the American people and the families of the victims. 
 
 Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah also offered his condolences. 
 
 Shooter Omar Mateen was born in New York. His ex-wife told The Washington Post that Mateen's family was from Afghanistan. The family later moved to Florida. 
 
 The ex-wife is not named in the Post report. 
 
 4:05 p.m. 
 
 The FBI says agents twice investigated the man who opened fire inside a gay nightclub leaving 50 people dead, but closed those cases after interviewing him. 
 
 FBI agent Ronald Hopper said Sunday that Omar Mateen had been interviewed in 2013 and 2014. Hopper said agents first investigated Mateen after he made inflammatory comments to co-workers alleging possible ties to terrorists. 
 
 Mateen was interviewed twice and, when investigators were unable to verify the details of his comments, the FBI closed the probe. 
 
 In 2014, the agency looked into potential ties connecting Mateen to Moner Mohammad Abusalha, the first American to carry out a suicide attack in Syria. Like Mateen, Abusalha lived in Fort Pierce, Florida. 
 
 Hopper says agents determined that contact was minimal and did not constitute a substantive relationship or a threat at that time. 
 
 Mateen was 29 years old and born in New York. The FBI says he referred to the Islamic State in a 911 call before the slayings. 
 
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 4:05 p.m. 
 
 Organizers of Denver's PrideFest, which holds a parade and rally that has attracted hundreds of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in past years, is going ahead with their festival next weekend amid heavy security following the shooting deaths of at least 50 people inside a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday. 
 
 Organizer Debra Pollock says parade and rally participants in Denver have always been security-conscious, but members of the GLBT Community Center of Colorado have also received training on how to deal with active-shooter situations. 
 
 Pollock says the organizers will have metal detectors and fences set up at Civic Center Park for the rally, and there will also be security on the parade route and people will be searched as in past years. 
 
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 3:45 p.m. 
 
 The city of Orlando is publishing the names of those killed in a massacre at a gay nightclub on its website after their families have been contacted. 
 
 As of 3:45 p.m. Sunday, the list had four names. Fifty people were killed. 
 
 Shooter Omar Mateen was killed; his name is not on the list. 
 
 Fifty-three more were hospitalized. 
 
 The city's website includes the #PrayforOrlando hashtag and says officials are "working tirelessly" to get information to families. 
 
 The list can be found at http://www.cityoforlando.net/blog/victims/ 
 
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 3:25 p.m. 
 
 The ex-wife of the man authorities say left 50 people dead at an Orlando nightclub says he beat her repeatedly while they were married. 
 
 The ex-wife told The Washington Post that she met Omar Mateen online about eight years ago and decided to move to Florida and marry him. The ex-wife, who wasn't named in the report, says at first the marriage was normal, but then he became abusive. 
 
 They were together for only a few months and her parents intervened when they learned Mateen had assaulted her. She says he wasn't very religious and gave no signs of radical Islam. She said he owned a small-caliber handgun and worked as a guard at a nearby facility for juvenile delinquents. 
 
 Mateen's ex-wife said his family was from Afghanistan, but her ex-husband was born in New York. His family later moved to Florida. 
 
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 3:20 p.m. 
 
 Officials are giving more details about the shooter in a massacre at a gay Orlando nightclub. 
 
 Ronald Hopper of the FBI says shooter Omar Mateen was 29 and an American citizen. He was not under surveillance at the time of the shooting. 
 
 The ATF says Mateen purchased at least two firearms legally within the last week or so. 
 
 Hooper says some 911 calls involving the shooter and the massacre have become federal evidence. He says the conversations involved the Islamic State. 
 
 Hooper says the shooter in 2013 made inflammatory comments to co-workers, and that Mateen was interviewed twice. Hooper calls those interviews inconclusive. 
 
 In 2014, Hooper says, officials found that Mateen had ties to the first American to carry out a suicide attack in Syria. Hooper describes the contact as minimal; it did not constitute a threat at that time. 
 
 (Corrects that ATF, not FBI says firearms were bought legally) 
 
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 3:15 p.m. 
 
 Police say a total of 14 law enforcement officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter at a gay Florida nightclub. 
 
 Orlando police Chief John Mina and other officials gave the details at a Sunday afternoon news conference. 
 
 They say 11 Orlando police officers and three deputy sheriffs actively engaged, and fired their weapons. They're relieved of duties pending an investigation. That's typical procedure in such cases. 
 
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 3:15 p.m. 
 
 The suspected Orlando night club shooter Omar Mateen was a security guard with G4S. In a 2012 newsletter, the firm identified him as working in West Palm Beach. 
 
 In a statement sent to the Palm Beach Post, the security company confirmed his employment. 
 
 "We are shocked and saddened by the tragic event that occurred at the Orlando nightclub. We can confirm that Omar Mateen had been employed with G4S since September 10, 2007. We are cooperating fully with all law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, as they conduct their investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the friends, families and people affected by this unspeakable tragedy." 
 
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 2:55 p.m. 
 
 People who were inside the gay Florida nightclub where 50 people were killed are describing a scene of mass chaos. 
 
 Two men who were in Club Pulse discussed the Sunday massacre in Facebook chats with The Associated Press. 
 
 Orlando resident Brand White was shot. He says, "We are dancing and all of a sudden it just started like a rolling thunder, loud and everything went black." 
 
 The 30-year-old was with his cousin, who mentioned something about "a guy with a bomb." After that, White says, his memory is fuzzy; he said he doesn't recall leaving the club or who took him to the hospital. 
 
 White was shot in the shoulder. He spoke to The AP as he was being monitored at a hospital. He said he received a blood transfusion. 
 
 His cousin was unaccounted for — no one had heard from him as of 2:45 p.m. 
 
 Another man, Brett Rigas, says he and his partner were dancing when they heard shots. Rigas was shot in the arm and hid behind a bar. About five minutes later, authorities came in and told everyone to put their hands up and run out. 
 
 Rigas said he saw bodies as he ran out. 
 
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 2:45 p.m. 
 
 The suspected Orlando nightclub gunman had been licensed as a private security officer in Florida. 
 
 State records show suspected shooter Omar Mateen held the firearms license since at least 2011. It was set to expire in September 2017. 
 
 It wasn't immediately clear where, if anywhere, Mateen had worked as a security officer. An armed guard license in Florida requires 28 hours of classroom training by a licensed instructor. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:35 p.m. 
 
 Attorney General Loretta Lynch is cutting short a visit to Beijing for cybersecurity meetings with Chinese officials and returning to the United States to monitor developments in the nightclub shooting investigation. 
 
 Lynch says the Justice Department, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is supporting the investigation. 
 
 She says in a statement that she's gotten updates from Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and FBI Director James Comey. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:35 p.m. 
 
 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel stands "shoulder to shoulder" with the United States after the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that killed 50 people and wounded dozens more. 
 
 Netanyahu said Sunday that "on behalf of the people and government of Israel, I extend our deepest condolences to the American people following last night's horrific attack on the LGBT community in Orlando." 
 
 He wished "heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims" and "full and speedy recovery to the wounded." 
 
 The Orlando attack dominated news in Israel, which has seen a wave of Palestinian attacks in recent months. On Wednesday two Palestinian gunmen killed four people and wounded five others in Tel Aviv. 
 
 LGBT groups in Israel planned rallies and other support for the community in Orlando. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:25 p.m. 
 
 Police departments across the country are increasing patrols near locations frequented by the LGBT community after a gunman left 50 people dead at a gay nightclub in Orlando. 
 
 In Los Angeles, the mayor says a heavily armed person who was headed to a gay pride parade had been arrested by Santa Monica police. Mayor Eric Garcetti says the arrest was completely unrelated to the Orlando nightclub shooting. 
 
 Officer Ernesto Rodriguez of Miami Beach Police Department says the agency is saddened by the massacre and out of an abundance of caution will step up patrols. Boston Pride organizers plan to hold a moment of silence at this weekend's scheduled block parties to honor the Orlando victims and police there said there will be a heavier presence at those events. 
 
 The Baltimore Police Department says it is reaching out to the city's LBGT community to discuss concerns and safety after the Orlando massacre. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:20 p.m. 
 
 President Barack Obama says the worst mass shooting in U.S. history is a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get a weapon that allows them to shoot people in a school, in a house of worship, a movie theater or a gay nightclub. 
 
 Speaking from the White House, Obama says the United States has to decide if that is the "country we want to be." He says that doing nothing is a decision as well. 
 
 The shooting has thrust the topic of gun control back into focus as a presidential election nears. 
 
 Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has called for expanding background checks to sales at gun shows and online purchases, and for reinstating a ban on assault weapons. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has said the existing background check system should be fixed, not expanded, and that assault-weapons bans do not work. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:15 p.m. 
 
 President Barack Obama has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and federal buildings until sunset Thursday "as a mark of respect for victims of the act of hatred and terror" at a gay Florida nightclub. 
 
 He's also directing the same observance at embassies and other U.S. government facilities abroad. 
 
 Obama addressed the nation Sunday, calling the shooting "an act of terror" and an "act of hate." 
 
 Fifty were killed, including the shooter, and 53 more hospitalized. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:15 p.m. 
 
 Donald Trump isn't pausing his political commentary for the biggest mass shooting in U.S. history unfolding in Florida. 
 
 It was unclear whether the shooter who left at least 50 people dead in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub was associated with a radical religious organization. President Barack Obama addressed the nation, calling the shooting "an act of terror" and an "act of hate." 
 
 Trump tweeted as Obama began speaking: "Is President Obama going to finally mention the words radical Islamic terrorism? If he doesn't he should immediately resign in disgrace!" 
 
 A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that the shooter in the massacre at a gay Florida nightclub was known to the FBI before the incident and had been looked at by agents within the last few years. 
 
 The official spoke to The Associated Press Sunday about the shooting, the deadliest in U.S. history. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and on spoke on condition of anonymity. 
 
 — AP Writer Eric Tucker in Washington 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:05 p.m. 
 
 President Barack Obama says the nightclub shooting in Orlando was an "act of terror" and an "act of hate." 
 
 He said Sunday that the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism and that no effort will be spared to determine whether the shooter was affiliated with terrorist groups. 
 
 Obama is speaking at the White House after 50 people were killed overnight at a nightclub in Florida. Officials have said 53 more are hospitalized. 
 
 Obama is noting that the killer targeted a gay nightclub. He says it's a "sobering reminder" that an attack on any American is an attack "on all of us." 
 
 ___ 
 
 2 p.m. 
 
 A bartender who was working at the Orlando nightclub when a gunman opened fire leaving 50 people dead and wounding about 50 others says at first she thought the gunshots were music. 
 
 But after a second shot there was a pause, and then more shots and Tiffany Johnson realized something was wrong. 
 
 Johnson says people dropped to the ground and started running out of the Pulse nightclub early Sunday morning. She ran to a fast-food restaurant across the street and met one of her customers who let her get in his car and they drove away. 
 
 Johnson says her first instinct was to get somewhere safe. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2 p.m. 
 
 Sunday evening's Tony Awards have been dedicated to those affected by the Orlando nightclub shooting that killed at least 50 people. 
 
 In a statement Sunday, the Tony Awards said "our hearts are heavy for the unimaginable tragedy." The awards, it said, will be dedicated to the friends and family of those affected by the most deadly mass shooting in U.S. history. 
 
 Organizers didn't say how the evening's broadcast would be affected. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the star and creator of "Hamilton" — expected to be the night's big winner — tweeted a rainbow-colored heart with "Orlando" written beneath it. 
 
 The Tonys are to be hosted by late-night host James Corden. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:40 p.m. 
 
 The Vatican says Pope Francis is expressing the "deepest feelings of horror and condemnation" over a massacre at a gay Florida nightclub that killed at least 50 people. 
 
 Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi says the pontiff denounces the "homicidal folly and senseless hatred." 
 
 He added that Francis joins the families of victims and injured in the Sunday massacre in "prayer and compassion." 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:35 p.m. 
 
 A law enforcement official says the shooter in the massacre at a gay Florida nightclub was known to the FBI before the incident and had been looked at by agents within the last few years. 
 
 The official spoke to The Associated Press Sunday about the shooting, the deadliest in U.S. history. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and on spoke on condition of anonymity. 
 
 The shooter has been identified as Omar Mateen of Florida. The official says the matter for which Mateen came under investigation was "open and closed pretty quickly." 
 
 Other details about the matter weren't immediately available. 
 
 —AP reporter Eric Tucker in Washington 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:20 p.m. 
 
 Hundreds of people in Orlando have lined up to give blood to help the victims of the massacre at a gay nightclub. 
 
 Officials at OneBlood say they have received such an overwhelming response that they are now asking donors to come back over the next several days. More than 50 people were injured and 50 were killed when a gunman opened fire inside a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning. 
 
 In the hours after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, officials urged people to donate blood to help the victims. 
 
 In December, the nation's three-decade-old ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men was formally lifted, but there are still major restrictions to limit who can give blood. The Food and Drug Administration said it replaced the lifetime ban with a new policy barring donations from men who have had sex with a man in the previous year. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:45 p.m. 
 
 The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says law enforcement officials and the intelligence community are checking to see what information they had on the shooter prior to the massacre at a gay Florida nightclub. 
 
 Rep. Adam Schiff called the attack "painfully reminiscent" of the November shootings at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris. 
 
 He says in a statement, "This morning, I will be marching in the West Hollywood Pride Parade with a heavy heart, but we will march in solidarity with all those who are the victims of terrorism and hatred." 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:30 p.m. 
 
 Florida Gov. Rick Scott is calling the shooting at a gay Orlando nightclub "heartwrenching" and says first responders who went into the building knowing there was an active shooter are heroic. 
 
 He spoke Sunday afternoon at a news conference, hours after 50 people were killed. Officials have said 53 more are hospitalized. 
 
 Scott urged people to donate blood. He says officials are doing everything they can. 
 
 He says: "This is clearly an act of terrorism. It's sickening. It should make every American angry." 
 
 Officials have said they're investigating whether the incident was an act of terrorism. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:25 p.m. 
 
 Law enforcement officials are beefing up security for a LGBT pride festival in Washington, D.C., after a deadly shooting at a gay club in Orlando. 
 
 D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement that she has been briefed by police Chief Cathy Lanier about increased security measures ahead of Sunday's Capital Pride Festival. 
 
 DC Police tweeted that festivalgoers should expect extra police presence Sunday. 
 
 Bowser said Washingtonians "will not be deterred by hate as we gather to celebrate love." 
 
 Festival organizers said that there will be moment of silence for the victims of the Florida shooting at 1 p.m. 
 
 Officials said the shooting at the Orlando nightclub left at least 50 people dead, making it the worst mass shooting in American history. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Noon 
 
 A SWAT truck and a bomb disposal unit are on the scene of an address associated with the man named as the shooter in a massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando. 
 
 There is a media staging area set up about a block away from the apartment complex in a residential neighborhood in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Sunday. The shooter has been identified Omar Mateen. 
 
 Fort Pierce is about 120 miles southeast of Orlando. The apartment complex is a series of two-story buildings. 
 
 Numerous police officers and members of the FBI also area there. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11:45 a.m. 
 
 The father of the man named as the shooter in a massacre at a gay Florida nightclub says he's in shock and that he wasn't aware of anything his son might have been planning. 
 
 Seddique Mateen is the father of Omar Mateen. Seddique Mateen told NBC News that his son got angry when he saw two men kissing in Miami a couple of months ago and thinks that may be related to the shooting. 
 
 Seddique says: "We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. ... We are in shock like the whole country." 
 
 The father also says the incident has nothing to do with religion. 
 
 Officials say the shooter was killed, and that they're investigating whether the incident was an act of terrorism. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11:45 a.m. 
 
 Many are still awaiting word on whether their loved ones are among the 50 killed and 53 hospitalized in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando. 
 
 Thirty-two-year-old Christopher Leinonen was at the popular Pulse club and is missing. That's according to his mother, Christine Leinonen. She drove to Orlando at 4 a.m. She hasn't heard from her son and fears the worst. She was standing in front of an Orlando hospital just down the street from Pulse. 
 
 She says: "These are nonsensical killings of our children. They're killing our babies!" 
 
 She said her son's friend made it out alive by hiding in the bathroom and running out as bullets were flying. 
 
 Also, on Sunday morning Facebook added a "Facebook Safety Check" for people to find out whether friends and family have tagged themselves as safe. The social network is using the heading "The Shooting in Orlando, Florida." 
 
 It is Facebook's way of allowing its users who live near the scene of a major crisis to notify people that they're OK. 
 
 __ 
 
 11:20 a.m. 
 
 Families and friends are awaiting word outside an Orlando hospital to learn whether their loved ones are among 50 killed and 53 more hospitalized at a shooting at a gay nightclub. 
 
 About 50 people were gathered outside Orlando Regional Medical Center on Sunday, many in tears and anxious. 
 
 Fatriana Evans frequents the Pulse nightclub and was outside when shots were fired. 
 
 Evans says, "It sounded like fireworks - pop, pop, pop - and then everybody scatters." 
 
 Jackie Smith was inside the club and says two friends next to her were shot. She says she hasn't gotten updates on their conditions. She came out of the hospital and burst into tears in the arms of friends. 
 
 She says: "Some guy walked in and started shooting everybody. He had an automatic rifle, so nobody stood a chance. I just tried to get out of there." 
 
 ___ 
 
 11 a.m. 
 
 Police say the shooter at an Orlando nightclub used an AR-15-type assault rifle on all the victims. 
 
 Officials say 50 were killed at the popular gay club. That makes it the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. 
 
 Police Chief John Mina said at a Sunday news conference that the shooter used the assault rifle, with unknown rounds, and also had a handgun. 
 
 Officials at the news conference also say they have securing the suspect's vehicle, a van, right outside the club. 
 
 The shooter has been identified as Omar Mateen of Fort Pierce, Florida. Officials have said they're investigating whether the massacre was an act of terrorism. 
 
 Dr. Mike Cheatham is a trauma surgeon at Orlando Regional Medical Center, where 46 patients were taken. The majority are in critical condition. 
 
 He tells The Associated Press, "I think we will see the death toll rise." 
 
 ___ 
 
 10:50 a.m. 
 
 The massacre at an Orlando nightclub that claimed 50 lives is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. 
 
 Police Chief John Mina confirmed at a news conference Sunday morning that 50 people were killed, up from 20 as earlier reported. 
 
 Mayor Buddy Dyer says 53 more are hospitalized after the early Sunday incident. He says the shooter is among the dead. He also says the shooter used an assault rifle on all those dead. Officials say one officer was shot, and has injuries to his face. 
 
 Earlier, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson identified the shooter as Omar Mateen. He cited law enforcement officials in speaking to reporters. 
 
 Officials also have said they're investigating whether the incident was an act of terrorism. 
 
 ___ 
 
 10:30 a.m. 
 
 The mayor of Orlando says there were 50 casualties and there are 53 more hospitalized after a mass shooting at a popular gay nightclub there. 
 
 "There's blood everywhere," Mayor Buddy Dyer said Sunday at a news conference, hours after the shooting. 
 
 He says the shooter used an assault rifle on all those killed. 
 
 Earlier, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson identified the shooter as Omar Mateen. He cited law enforcement officials in speaking to reporters. 
 
 ___ 
 
 10:20 a.m. 
 
 The suspect in the mass shooting at night club in Florida has been identified as Omar Mateen of Fort Pierce, Florida. 
 
 U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson identified the shooter in the Sunday incident. He cited law enforcement officials in speaking to reporters. 
 
 A federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation also identified him. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. 
 
 Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Danny Banks said earlier that the mass shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. He says authorities are looking into whether the incident was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter was a lone wolf. 
 
 — Eric Tucker in Washington contributed. 
 
 ___ 
 
 10:15 a.m. 
 
 Florida's governor is headed to Orlando after a shooting at a gay nightclub there left about 20 dead and 42 wounded. 
 
 Gov. Rick Scott says in a statement Sunday, hours after the incident, that thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. 
 
 The statement says he'll meet with law enforcement and local officials in Orlando. 
 
 Scott says: "We will devote every resource available to assist with the shooting in Orlando. Our state emergency operations center is also monitoring this tragic incident." 
 
 His statement also thanks the first responders. 
 
 Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Danny Banks said earlier that the mass shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. He says authorities are looking into whether the incident was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter was a lone wolf. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:45 a.m. 
 
 President Barack Obama has been briefed by his homeland security and counterterrorism adviser about the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left about 20 people dead and 42 wounded. 
 
 The White House said Sunday, several hours after the incident, that Obama has been briefed and has asked for regular updates as the FBI and other federal officials work with Orlando police on the case. 
 
 Press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement that the president has directed federal officials to provide "any necessary assistance to pursue the investigation and support the community." 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:25 a.m. 
 
 Police say approximately 20 people have been killed inside a Florida nightclub, and at least 42 were wounded. 
 
 Orlando Police Chief John Mina says authorities have not determined an exact number of people killed, but that "approximately 20" have died. 
 
 Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Danny Banks says the mass shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. He says authorities are looking into whether the early Sunday incident was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter was a lone wolf. 
 
 Mina says the shooter was armed with an assault-type rifle, a handgun and some type of suspicious device. Police had said previously on Twitter that there was a "controlled explosion" at the scene of the shooting at Pulse Orlando, a popular gay dance club. Mina says that noise was caused by a device intended to distract the shooter. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:15 a.m. 
 
 Police say multiple people have been killed inside a Florida nightclub, and at least 42 wounded people have been taken to hospitals. 
 
 Orlando Police Chief John Mina did not immediately provide an exact number of how many people were killed. Police had said previously that the shooting was a "mass casualty situation." 
 
 Mina says the shooter was armed with an assault-type rifle, a handgun and some type of device. Police had said previously on Twitter that there was a "controlled explosion" at the scene of the shooting at Pulse Orlando. 
 
 Mina also says the suspect had exchanged gunshots with an officer working at the club, then went back inside and took hostages around 2 a.m. About three hours later, a SWAT team made the decision to go inside and rescue the hostages. The shooter died in a gunfight with those officers. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:55 a.m. 
 
 Police say the person who opened fire inside a popular Florida nightclub is dead. 
 
 Orlando Police did not immediately provide further details on the department's official Twitter account on Sunday. It was not immediately clear how the shooter died. Police described the shooting as a "mass casualty situation" and said local, state and federal agencies were involved in the investigation. 
 
 It was not immediately clear how many people were wounded in the shooting, or if any of the victims had died. Police have told people to stay away from the area and said a noise in the vicinity was a "controlled explosion." No further details were provided on the explosion. 
 
 Dozens of emergency vehicles have swarmed the area around the club. 
 
 The club, Pulse Orlando, earlier posted on its own Facebook page just after 2 a.m.: "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running." 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:15 a.m. 
 
 Police say a loud noise near the scene of a reported shooting at a nightclub in Florida was a "controlled explosion." 
 
 Orlando Police said on the department's official Twitter account Sunday that media should avoid "reporting inaccuracies." No further details were immediately provided about the explosion. 
 
 Police have said "multiple injuries" were reported following the incident at the Pulse Orlando nightclub near Orange and Kaley avenue. The department also advised people to stay away from area. 
 
 Multiple emergency vehicles have reportedly responded, including the Orlando Fire Department's bomb squad and hazardous material team. 
 
 Pulse Orlando earlier posted on its own Facebook page just after 2 a.m.: "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running." 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:50 a.m. 
 
 Orlando Police say they are responding to a shooting at a nightclub in Florida. 
 
 A post on the department's official Twitter account early Sunday morning says "multiple injuries" have been reported following the incident at the Pulse Orlando nightclub near Orange and Kaley avenue. The department also advises people to stay away from area. 
 
 Multiple emergency vehicles have reportedly responded, including the Orlando Fire Department's bomb squad and hazardous material team. 
 
 Pulse Orlando earlier posted on its own Facebook page: "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running." 
 
 The incident follows the fatal shooting on Friday of 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie, who was killed after her concert in Orlando by a 27-year-old Florida man who later killed himself. Grimmie was a YouTube sensation and former contestant on "The Voice." 
 
 ___ 
 
 This story has been corrected to show that information about shooting being investigated as act of terrorism came from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, not the FBI. ||||| As Reserve Deputy Robert Knight walked inside Pulse nightclub, the horror of what happened became clear. 
 
 He started by carrying three of the wounded out of the club then returned to search for more. Knight went to check a "large group of bodies in front of the bar for signs of life,” he wrote in a report. 
 
 He searched through the pile of 15 people who had "horrific wounds," he wrote. 
 
 None of them were alive. He moved outside and tried to help three others but they were dead, too. 
 
 Knight's chilling account is part of 20 pages of reports from Orange County deputies who responded to the massacre that left 49 people dead and more than 53 people injured after gunman Omar Mateen opened fire in the gay nightclub on Latin night. 
 
 Body cam: Deputies react during Pulse nightclub shooting (WARNING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE) Redacted Orange County Sheriff's Office body cam footage from deputy Rutkowski as they move a stretcher during the Pulse nightclub shooting, later sound bites as deputies try to make sense of what has happened. (WARNING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE) Redacted Orange County Sheriff's Office body cam footage from deputy Rutkowski as they move a stretcher during the Pulse nightclub shooting, later sound bites as deputies try to make sense of what has happened. See more videos 
 
 The reports are the latest released by law enforcement as a result of public records requests made by the Orlando Sentinel. They offer a more detailed account of the response by law enforcement. In the documents, deputies describe the scene inside and outside the club, their attempts at saving victims along with the chaos when one of their own was shot amid the gunfire. 
 
 When Deputy Brian Lemons arrived at 2:08 a.m. he didn’t know how many shooters were inside the club and none of the victims he spoke with had seen the shooter, according to his incident report. 
 
 A woman with a gunshot wound to her arm with "bone and everything else showing” walked up to him. He asked her if she saw the shooter, but she was in shock and kept repeating “I’m scared, please talk to me. I don’t want to die,” according to his report. 
 
 He helped her sit down and told dispatch where the victim was located. Moments later, he heard gunshots from the nightclub. 
 
 Lemons had searched the parking lot of a nearby auto detailing business for suspicious devices after learning Mateen may have a bomb vest and an explosive device in his vehicle. When the Orlando police SWAT team began knocking a hole in the wall of the nightclub shortly after 5 a.m., he ran over to help remove about 10 victims out from the hole in the back wall. 
 
 Shortly after, he heard gunshots from the hole in the wall and SWAT members yelling that an officer had been hit. He ran to help to drag the wounded SWAT member to safety. 
 
 “I observed a hole as well as a large dent on his Kevlar helmet. He had blood coming down his nose. We removed his helmet and observed a large knot that was covered in blood on his forehead,” according to Lemons’ account. 
 
 The SWAT officer was loaded into the back of a truck and rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and later released. Lemons continued removing more victims from the hole in the club. 
 
 Reserve Deputy James Montgomery arrived to the club at 2:04 a.m. 
 
 He spoke with an Orlando police officer who instructed him to assist with checking causalities in front of Einstein Bros. Bagel, across from the nightclub. 
 
 Montgomery and an Orlando police officer carried a man with a gunshot wound from the front to the back of the business, where he could be treated. Along the way, he saw another man with a gunshot wound to the head and confirmed he had no pulse. 
 
 After carrying the man to the back of the business, Montgomery went inside Pulse to look for more people who could be helped. He saw several bodies at the foot of the bar inside Pulse and determined they had already died. 
 
 Cpl. Mike Green arrived about 2:20 a.m. and went inside to help rescue the injured. 
 
 He looked in a storage room behind the bar and found a ladder leading to an attic area. He found “numerous victims with an array of injuries who were hiding,” he wrote in a report. 
 
 After helping them out of the building, Green was told to back away from the building after it was reported Mateen may have an explosive device, he wrote in a report. 
 
 Hours later, after officers shot and killed Mateen, Green helped extract victims from the building and load them into pickup trucks, which were driven to the hospital. 
 
 When Deputy Scott Bearns got to the scene, he grabbed his first-aid kit out of his patrol car and, along with his trainee Joshua Korte, set up a triage in front of the Ragin' Cajun bicycle shop on Orange Ave, according to his incident report. 
 
 He carried several victims on gurneys from the nightclub to the triage area then went inside Pulse. 
 
 “From where I was standing I counted approximately 20 lifeless victims in the main dance floor,” Bearns said in his report. 
 
 Throughout the incident, I witnessed exceptional heroism in the face of indescribable horror. — Deputy Benjamin Edmondson 
 
 Deputy Adam Popp saw 30 to 40 people running from the club along Orange Avenue when he responded at about 2:11 a.m. He grabbed a carbine rifle and went to help the injured he saw lying on the ground outside the club, he wrote in a report. 
 
 Popp stopped and provided aid and security for one man who was shot in the back, not knowing where the shooter was. 
 
 He then heard gunfire erupt inside the club and ran towards the building where he saw more victims, many of whom appeared to be deceased, he wrote. 
 
 Popp said there were officers inside the club covering the bathroom where Mateen was barricaded. He stood away from the building and covered the roof area after learning the building had a second floor that possibly provided access to the roof. 
 
 Before Deputy Sheriff Andrew Stephens made it to the shooting area, he heard over the dispatch radio that an Orlando Police officer was not responding after calling out, “shots fired!” he wrote in a report. 
 
 He arrived to the chaotic scene with little information and got ready to go inside the club dressed in Kevlar and a helmet. Stephens and three other deputies formed a “cover team” and entered on the east side of the building facing Orange Avenue, according to his incident report. 
 
 Deputy Benjamin Edmondson heard gunfire as he approached the area about 2:17 a.m. 
 
 He helped the injured and instructed others who were less severely hurt to put pressure on the gunshot wounds of others, his report says. 
 
 Edmondson helped load victims from the front of the nightclub into the back of pickup trucks, working in a rotation-like fashion--pulling the victims to cover then loading them into the truck again and again, he wrote in a report. When he was relieved from his post, he saw his uniform and boots were blood stained. ||||| Omar Mateen, of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, came to the attention of federal authorities twice prior to being identified as the gunman in the Orlando gay nightclub mass shooting, a senior law-enforcement source told The Daily Beast. 
 
 Mateen killed 49 people and shot more than 100 in total at the Pulse dance club early Sunday morning, in the deadliest mass shooting in American history. 
 
 The senior law-enforcement source reports Mateen became a person of interest in 2013 and again in 2014. The Federal Bureau of Investigation at one point opened an investigation into Mateen, but subsequently closed the case when it produced nothing that appeared to warrant further investigation. 
 
 “He’s a known quantity,” the source said. “He’s been on the radar before.” 
 
 The senior law-enforcement source told The Daily Beast that Mateen was born in New York and was married for a time to a woman from New Jersey. 
 
 That woman told The Washington Post that he repeatedly abused her during their marriage, which lasted from April 2009 to July 2011. 
 
 “He was not a stable person,” the ex-wife said. “He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that.” 
 
 Mateen’s parents are from Afghanistan but he was not very religious, she said, adding that he “seemed like a normal human being.” 
 
 Mateen’s father, Mir Seddique, told NBC News that the sight of two men in Miami kissing angered his son.“We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident,” the father added. “We weren’t aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country.”The attack, he said, “has nothing to do with religion.”But the father may not be the most credible of sources. He’s a supporter of the Afghan Taliban, according to The Washington Post. 
 
 Mir Seddique Mateen appears to reside in Florida, but is said to be presently running for office in Afghanistan. 
 
 Florida incorporation papers indicate that a Seddique Mateen heads a non-profit organization, The Durand Jirga, Inc. The non-profit was formed in 2010 and is registered at the Port St. Lucie, Florida address where both the father and Omar Mateen appear to reside. 
 
 An online posting by the father insists that what is now the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan should be returned to Afghanistan. 
 
 Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily Digest Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't). By clicking “Subscribe,” you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason. 
 
 “Long live Afghanistan,” a posting on Seddique Mateen’s Facebook page declares. “To Pakistan death, death, death.” 
 
 Two law-enforcement officials told The Daily Beast that immediately before starting his rampage, Mateen called 911 and pledged his allegiance to the self-proclaimed Islamic State. (A similar pledge was made online by the San Bernardino terrorists before they shot and killed 14 people last year.) 
 
 The first law-enforcement source told The Daily Beast there is no immediate indication that Mateen had any direct connection to ISIS. But ISIS recently called on Muslims across the world to attack targets in the West during the holy month of Ramadan, which began last week. 
 
 The message came in an audio recording from spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, released in May. Muslims around the world fast during Ramadan in honor of the first revelation from God to Muhammad. The terrorist group believes it to be a particularly opportune time for attacks. 
 
 “Ramadan, the month of conquest and jihad. Get prepared, be ready... to make it a month of calamity everywhere for the non-believers... especially for the fighters and supporters of the caliphate in Europe and America,” Adnani said. 
 
 The Amaq Agency, an ISIS media affiliate, later praised the attack and took credit for it. Yet there is no currently established link between Mateen and the terrorist outfit. 
 
 Mateen had a valid firearms license in Florida and worked as a security guard at a facility for juvenile deliquents. 
 
 Among the key questions still unanswered was whether the private security company where Mateen worked was aware of any propensity to violence and what kinds of background checks had been performed on him. Officials said Mateen had a gun license by virtue of his work as a security officer and that he legally purchased the weapons used in the attack. 
 
 Mateen had been employed since 2007 as a security guard with G4S, a large multinational security company that provides services to more than two-dozen juvenile-detention facilities in Florida. 
 
 Mateen’s ex-wife told The Washington Post that he worked at a juvenile-detention center near their home in Fort Pierce. 
 
 A spokesperson at the St. Lucie Regional Juvenile Detention Center, just outside Fort Pierce, declined to provide The Daily Beast with any information about Mateen or to confirm whether he worked at the facility. The spokesman directed all calls to the State of Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. 
 
 A spokeswoman there directed all queries to G4S, which released the following statement about Mateen: "We are deeply shocked by this tragic event. We can confirm that Omar Mateen had been employed by G4S since September 10th, 2007. Mateen was off-duty at the time of the incident. He was employed at a gated retirement community in South Florida. Mateen underwent company screening and background checks when he was recruited in 2007 and the check revealed nothing of concern. His screening was repeated in 2013 with no findings. "We are cooperating fully with all law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, as they conduct their investigations. In 2013, we learned that Mateen had been questioned by the FBI but that the inquiries were subsequently closed. We were not made aware of any alleged connections between Mateen and terrorist activities, and were unaware of any further FBI investigations. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims of this unspeakable tragedy, and their friends and families." 
 
 Daniel Gilroy, who worked with Mateen at the facility, told Florida Today that he was “unhinged and unstable. He talked of killing people." Gilroy added that he complained to G4S about Mateen’s odd, often bigoted, behavior—to no avail. Eventually, Mateen began stalking Gilroy, leaving him 30 or more text and phone messages per day. Gilroy eventually quit. 
 
 G4S has come under scrutiny in Florida in the past few years after some of its guards were found to be abusing children in facilities where the company provides security. 
 
 At the Palmetto Youth Academy in Manatee County, G4S employee Leroy Bostic Jr. was arrested in 2014 on charges of sexually abusing two teenage boys. 
 
 At a facility in Tampa, G4S employee Viviana Hernandez-Trejo was investigated for engaging in sex acts with a boy under her care. 
 
 An investigation in 2015 by Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers found records documenting multiple assaults at youth-detention facilities G4S managed in Florida, both against the company’s employees as well as minors under its charge. G4S provides security for about 30 juvenile-detention centers in the state of Florida, according to the report. 
 
 “I’m amazed at the amount of violence that goes on over there, both against staff and other inmates,” Assistant State Attorney Vicki Nichols, Martin County’s juvenile prosecutor, told the newspaper, referring to a girls’ facility run by G4S that had a history of violent altercations among staff and children. 
 
 Around 2 a.m. Sunday, Mateen, armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and a handgun, entered the Pulse club and began shooting, officials said. After most of the 320 people there escaped, Mateen took hostages from a group that was hiding in a bathroom. Shortly before 6 a.m., a SWAT unit breached the club doors and engaged Mateen in what’s being called a protracted gun battle. Mateen was killed. 
 
 The deadliest single-person mass murder in American history before Orlando occured in Bath, Michigan, in 1927, when a man bombed a school, killing 44 people. 
 
 —with additional reporting by Nancy A. Youssef 
 
 Read more coverage of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub
– The night that Omar Mateen carried out the deadliest mass shooting in US history was far from his first visit to Orlando's Pulse nightclub, surviving customers say. The Orlando Sentinel spoke to at least four customers who recalled seeing Mateen in the LGBT club. Ty Smith says he had seen the 29-year-old there at least a dozen times and remembers him talking about his father and telling him he had a wife and child. "Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent," Smith says. Another customer says Mateen had been coming in for years and was prone to violent outbursts. In other developments: Kevin West, another Pulse regular, tells the Los Angeles Times that he had exchanged occasional messages with Mateen for a year on the gay dating app Jack'd but had never laid eyes on him until an hour before the shooting, when he spotted him while dropping a friend off at the club. "He walked directly past me. I said, 'Hey,' and he turned and said, 'Hey,' and nodded his head," West says. "I could tell by the eyes." Pulse regular Cord Cedeno tells MSNBC that he and his friends had seen Mateen on gay dating apps, including Grindr. "I instantly blocked him because he was very creepy in his messages. I blocked him immediately," Cedeno says. No profiles of Mateen from such apps have surfaced yet, though Cedeno says two friends that encountered Mateen online have turned their phones over to the FBI. Lisa Lane, a performer at Pulse, tells the Advocate that she knows Mateen's face from her shows at the club. "He was one of my fans," she says. "Always when he saw me he would talk to me." In a look at Mateen's past, the AP finds an all-American list of early employers: Publix, Circuit City, Chick-fil-A, Walgreens, and Gold's Gym. He worked at a state prison for six months beginning in 2006 and was hired the following year by security firm G4S. His assignments included guard duty at the St. Lucie County Courthouse in Fort Pierce. Up until the Pulse massacre, he was working as a security guard at a gated retirement community. Former classmates at Florida's Martin County High School tell the Miami Herald that Mateen was a loner who behaved very strangely on the week of the 9/11 attacks—at one point, he claimed Osama bin Laden was his uncle—and was expelled soon afterward. A law enforcement source tells People that Mateen and his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, visited Walt Disney World in April, and Mateen may have been looking for potential targets at the time. NBC Bay Area reports that Salman, Mateen's second wife, grew up near San Francisco and moved to Florida around five years ago, which is apparently when she married Mateen. WSVN reports that she was accompanied by police officers Monday night when she went to the apartment she shared with Mateen and their 3-year-old son to pick up belongings.