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Orlando shooting: Questions over how Omar Mateen was able to buy gun - live Orlando shooting: Questions over how Omar Mateen was able to buy gun - live
(35 minutes later)
9.07am BST
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Candlelight vigil in SF turned into a march to City Hall
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By kmterry
13 June 2016, 7:04
9.01am BST
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Orlando gay bar, club and hotel, Parliament House, has use its famous neon sign to share a message of solidarity with Pulse nightclub.
Orlando pic.twitter.com/BXfa65HoKm
Nearly 200 people attended a vigil at Parliament House on Sunday night.
8.52am BST
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Sean Farrell
Guardian business reporter, Sean Farrell, reports that shares have fallen at G4S, the employer of the Orlando nightclub shooter:
Shares of G4S, the UK security company, fell heavily on Monday after it said Omar Mateen had worked for it since 2007. G4S shares dropped as much as 6% and were the biggest fallers of the 350 biggest British companies.
G4S, the world’s biggest security firm, said Mateen carried a gun as part of his duties and that it was trying to establish whether any weapons used in the attack were related to his employment. The company said it had screened Mateen as recently as 2013 with “no findings”, Reuters reported.
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Authorities have started to release the names of those killed at an Orlando nightclub on Sunday as next of kin are notified.
The Guardian’s Jessica Glenza, reporting from Orlando, has more on some of the 50 victims:
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22, had only told his family he was gay before the New Year, his cousin told the Associated Press.
“He was never the type to go out to parties, would rather stay home and care for his niece and nephew,” his cousin Robert Guerrero said. He said Juan Ramon Guerrero was a telemarketer, and recently began attending school at the University of Central Florida. “He was always this amazing person ... he was like a big brother to me.”
Edward Sotomayor, 34, was a brand manager who had invited his friend Al Ferguson to the club on Sunday night. “He was super bright,” said Ferguson, owner of the Al and Chuck Travel, an agency focused on booking vacations for gay men, about his former employee, Sotomayor, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Ferguson told the Sentinel that Sotomayor, knowing the perils that gay, lesbian and transgender travelers could face because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, didn’t shy away from exploring.
“What I will say, over and over again, was he was a person who said, ‘We cannot be afraid,’” Ferguson told the Sentinel. “I know his friends are going to be the exact same way … We are not going to be afraid.”
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Congressman Jared Polis, a Democrat from Colorado, condemned the national regulation prohibiting sexually active gay men from donating blood. Polis is one of the only openly gay men in Congress.Congressman Jared Polis, a Democrat from Colorado, condemned the national regulation prohibiting sexually active gay men from donating blood. Polis is one of the only openly gay men in Congress.
“I’m … hopeful that we can remove the ban that the FDA has on gay people donating blood, because guess what? Many of the spouses and loved ones of the victims who need blood can’t even donate blood right now,” Polis told Denver news channel 9News. “It’s just a double tragedy that so many are facing the shortage of blood.”“I’m … hopeful that we can remove the ban that the FDA has on gay people donating blood, because guess what? Many of the spouses and loved ones of the victims who need blood can’t even donate blood right now,” Polis told Denver news channel 9News. “It’s just a double tragedy that so many are facing the shortage of blood.”
Orlando-area blood donation centers were so overwhelmed by donations on Sunday that some would-be donors were turned away and asked to return in the next few days.Orlando-area blood donation centers were so overwhelmed by donations on Sunday that some would-be donors were turned away and asked to return in the next few days.
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A day after the deadliest mass shooting in US history, relatives and friends of those caught up the attack on an LBGT nightclub in Orlando, Florida, are still waiting for news of their loved ones. Sunday’s attack on the Pulse nightclub - which left 50 people dead and 53 injured – was launched by 29-year-old Omar Mateen, who made a 911 call 20 minutes into his killing spree, in which he reportedly spoke of the Islamic State terror group and the Tsarnaevs, the brothers who carried out the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013.A day after the deadliest mass shooting in US history, relatives and friends of those caught up the attack on an LBGT nightclub in Orlando, Florida, are still waiting for news of their loved ones. Sunday’s attack on the Pulse nightclub - which left 50 people dead and 53 injured – was launched by 29-year-old Omar Mateen, who made a 911 call 20 minutes into his killing spree, in which he reportedly spoke of the Islamic State terror group and the Tsarnaevs, the brothers who carried out the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013.
Among other developments since the attack:Among other developments since the attack:
• Questions are mounting over why Mateen was able to legally buy an assault rifle and handgun despite having been investigated twice by the FBI for suspected terrorist sympathies.• Questions are mounting over why Mateen was able to legally buy an assault rifle and handgun despite having been investigated twice by the FBI for suspected terrorist sympathies.
• New York City’s police commissioner, Bill Bratton, fiercely criticized the National Rifle Association, the most powerful gun lobby in the country, that has campaigned to prevent people named on the US government no-fly list from being barred from purchasing guns.• New York City’s police commissioner, Bill Bratton, fiercely criticized the National Rifle Association, the most powerful gun lobby in the country, that has campaigned to prevent people named on the US government no-fly list from being barred from purchasing guns.
• Mateen’s former wife has told reporters that he was physically abusive towards her, had mental health issues and was “obviously disturbed, deeply, and traumatised”.• Mateen’s former wife has told reporters that he was physically abusive towards her, had mental health issues and was “obviously disturbed, deeply, and traumatised”.
• Barack Obama, declared the attack “an act of terror and an act of hate” as the national flag was lowered to half-mast over the White House.• Barack Obama, declared the attack “an act of terror and an act of hate” as the national flag was lowered to half-mast over the White House.
• Authorities released the first names of victims, including: The first fifteen people named were Edward Sotomayor Jr, Stanley Almodovar III, Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, Juan Ramon Guerrero, Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, Luis S. Vielma, Kimberly Morris, Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, Luis S. Vielma, Kimberly Morris, Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 3Darryl Roman Burt II, Deonka Deidra Drayton, Alejandro Barrios Martinez, Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez.• Authorities released the first names of victims, including: The first fifteen people named were Edward Sotomayor Jr, Stanley Almodovar III, Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, Juan Ramon Guerrero, Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, Luis S. Vielma, Kimberly Morris, Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, Luis S. Vielma, Kimberly Morris, Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 3Darryl Roman Burt II, Deonka Deidra Drayton, Alejandro Barrios Martinez, Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez.
• Mateen bought a long gun and a handgun legally in the last week, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms said. Questions have been raised over why he was allowed to buy the weapons.• Mateen bought a long gun and a handgun legally in the last week, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms said. Questions have been raised over why he was allowed to buy the weapons.
• Muslim American leaders, LGBT groups, Pope Francis and others condemned the horrific attack, and urged Americans to rally together. The FBI solicited the public for tips to aid the investigation, blood banks asked for donations around the US, and a fundraising campaign for victims’ medical bills raised $416,000. Authorities set up hotlines for information and campaigns for donations.• Muslim American leaders, LGBT groups, Pope Francis and others condemned the horrific attack, and urged Americans to rally together. The FBI solicited the public for tips to aid the investigation, blood banks asked for donations around the US, and a fundraising campaign for victims’ medical bills raised $416,000. Authorities set up hotlines for information and campaigns for donations.
• A US official told the Guardian the attack may have been a “massive hate crime”. Mateen’s father told NBC News that his son had become enraged by a gay couple kissing.• A US official told the Guardian the attack may have been a “massive hate crime”. Mateen’s father told NBC News that his son had become enraged by a gay couple kissing.