Orlando is in mourning after a gunman stormed into Pulse, a gay nightclub where more than 300 people were in attendance, and opened fire.
The shooting on Sunday ended after a three-hour standoff which resulted in 49 people dead and 53 injured.
This the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. History, according to a statement made by President Barack Obama on Sunday.
The shooter, 29-year-old Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, arrived at Pulse around 2 a.m. where a Latin-Flavor dance night was being held. Mateen first shot the club bouncer and then entered the nightclub in open fire.
Twenty-two minutes after continual shooting with a legally purchased Sig Sauer MCX .223-caliber rifle and a Glock 17 9mm semi-automatic pistol, Mateen called 911 and pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Whether Mateen had a direct link to ISIS has yet to be determined.
The SWAT team didn’t enter the club until 5 a.m. when they were given the all clear from previously alleged bomb threats. SWAT broke down doors and Mateen was killed at 5:53 a.m.
Mateen’s father said his son may have been motivated by anger toward the LGBT community.
However, several Pulse regulars reported that Mateen was no stranger to the club.
“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,” Ty Smith, a Pulse regular, told the Orlando Sentinel.
Some users on the gay dating apps Grinder and Adam4Adam have claimed that Mateen had an active account, which has led investigators to question if Mateen was closeted in his sexuality.
Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, told officials that he had an interest in carrying out a jihadist attack. Officials said he scouted Pulse and Downtown Disney in Orlando as potential targets.
A grand jury is to investigate Salman to determine if she will face criminal charges.
The attack fell during Pride month with celebrations taking place across the country in cities such as Orlando, Detroit, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
On the same morning as the attack, James Wesley Howell was arrested after being found with assault weapons and explosives in his car on his way to L.A. Pride in Santa Monica.
Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said on her Twitter that 20-year-old Howell told an officer that he wanted “to harm [people at the] Gay Pride event.”
According OSCE Hate Crime reporting, in 2014 the total number of overall hate crimes reported was 6,385. However hate crimes have decreased since 2009 by 18 percent.
The total number hate crimes reported in 2014 based on bias against the LGBTQ community was 1,287, which is a 10 percent decrease since 2009.
“LGBT people are more than twice as likely to be the target of a violent hate-crime than Jews or black people,” said Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Patience Carter, a survivor from the attack, recounted details at a press conference from Florida Hospital Orlando, saying Mateen spared her because she was black. According to Carter, while she was hiding in the bathroom Mateen entered and asked, “Are there any black people in here?”
Carter remained silent but when someone answered that there were, Mateen responded, “I don’t have a problem with black people… this is about my country. You guys suffered enough.”
A majority of victims were Puerto Rican since it was a Latin themed night with the youngest victim aged 18 and the oldest 50.
In the wake of the Orlando shooting, thousands of people were reported to have lined up to donate blood across the nation, but not all were eligible to give blood, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The Orlando Sentinel also reported that a large group of attempted donors were gay and bisexual men. However, gay and bisexual men are not allowed to donate blood, due to a federal ban by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that does not allow men who have had sex with another male in the last 12 months to donate.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dryer announced in a statement the launch of the website OneOrlando Fund to help support the victims and family members.
The Walt Disney Company has pledged $1 million to the fund and JetBlue gave $100,000 and offered free plane rides to the immediate family members of the victims.
Vigils took place throughout the U.S., including one in Los Angeles and one in Long Beach.
The Long Beach vigil was held Sunday at Harvey Milk Park.
Cal State Long Beach is holding its own vigil today at 11:30 a.m. at the southwest terrace of the University Student Union.