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Police officers direct family members away from a multiple shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla.(Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack, AP)
A shooting rampage at an Orlando nightclub early Sunday left "approximately 20" people dead, including the gunman, Police Chief John Mina said.
Mina said the tragedy began at 2:02 a.m., when three police officers engaged in a gun battle with a suspect outside Pulse, a gay club just south of downtown. A hostage situation then took place inside, and a SWAT team was called in, Mina said. Police received updates from patrons trapped in the club, and decided to storm the club at about 5 a.m.
"Our biggest concern was further loss of life," Mina said. "We exchanged gunfire with the suspect, and he was dead at the scene."
Mina said 42 people were transferred to local hospitals, and one officer was wounded. He estimated the death toll at 20, and said at least<span style="color: Red;">*</span>30 people were rescued.
"Tonight our community witnessed a horrific crime... that will have a lasting effect on our community," a solemn Mayor Buddy Dyer said.
FBI Special Agent Ronald Hopper said the case was being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, either domestic or international. It was not clear if the shooter acted alone, he said. He said they were trying to determine if there was a connection with radical Islam.
Mina said the gunman was armed with an assault rifle, a handgun and some sort of unidentified device.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Officers from multiple agencies and dozens of emergency vehicles responded<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to the scene. Orange County Fire and Rescue called for gurneys<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to move victims from the club.
Pulse Shooting: The shooter inside the club is dead.
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 12, 2016
"We can confirm this is a mass casualty situation. Support from local/state/federal agencies," Orlando police tweeted, then later:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Pulse Shooting: The shooter inside the club is dead."
Few details were available.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mina said there was no indication that there was more than one shooter.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A bomb squad was at the scene, and police reported conducting a "controlled explosion."
Police responded to the Pulse shooting<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at 2:02 a.m. Sunday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>according to police calls for service log. Another call was made for backup minutes later.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Hours after the shooting, police were still trying to piece together what happened.
"Anyone who was at Pulse nightclub and was a witness Please come to the Orlando Police HQ," the department tweeted almost five hours later. "Any information you have could aid investigators in this case."
Club patron Christopher Hansen told CNN he heard what could have been 20 or 30 shots, setting off a panic as people scrambled for cover or raced for the exits.
"It's just shocking," Hansen said."It was just one (gunshot)afater another."
As the tragedy was unfolding,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Pulse Orlando<span style="color: Red;">*</span>posted to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>its Facebook page:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Everyone get out of pulse and keep running."
Rosie Feba, a witness, told the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Orlando Sentinel<span style="color: Red;">*</span>she and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>her girlfriend were in the club near closing time when, "she told me someone was shooting. Everyone was getting on the floor.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>I told her I didn't think it was real, I thought it was just part of the music, until I saw fire coming out of his gun."
Feba told the Sentinel she<span style="color: Red;">*</span>her girlfriend ran out of the club and helped a man who had been shot get outside.
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WESH-TV reported that several victims were loaded into ambulances outside Pulse, and a crisis negotiator was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at the scene. Police were searching for a suspect or suspects using dogs, the station said.
There was no immediate information on how many people were shot or what their conditions were. WESH reported several people were taken to nearby Orlando Regional Medical Center, a Level 1 trauma center. The hospital was not immediately available to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>comment.
The Orlando Fire Department called for its bomb squad and hazardous material team to the scene after 3 a.m. ET. Police K-9 dogs searched the area around nearby Orlando Regional Medical Center with an armed deputy in head-to-toe military gear.
A loud bang was heard before 5 a.m., but Orlando Police tweeted that it was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>controlled explosion by law enforcement.
Ali Kurnaz, 25, told USA TODAY he was working in his living room about a block from the nightclub when he heard multiple gunshots from outside.
"I could hear multiple rounds of gunfire to the point where it scared my cats," Kurnaz said. "They came running from a different room."
Kurnaz said he heard sirens as multiple police cars headed to the crime scene and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>helicopters flying over his neighborhood.
In some tweets appearing to come from inside Pulse<span style="color: Red;">*</span>nightclub short after the assault,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people said they were hiding.
Twitter users also said they heard multiple gunshots.
The shooting spree came just one day after<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Voice<span style="color: Red;">*</span>star Christina Grimmie was shot and killed after a concert Friday night at the Plaza Live Theater in Orlando. That<span style="color: Red;">*</span>gunman, identified as Kevin James Loibl, 27,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>St. Petersburg, Fla., fatally shot himself after the attack.
Contributing: Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY
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