Orlando terror attack: What we know

ORLANDO, Fla. – Here's what we know about the Orlando terror attack as of Sunday night.

Casualties

Death toll: 50

Hospitalized: 53

This is the worst terror attack in the United States since 9/11 and the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States.

Victims

Dead identified:

• Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34
• Stanley Almodovar III, 23
• Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20
• Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22
• Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36
• Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
• Luis S. Vielma, 22
• Kimberly Morris, 37
• Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30
• Darryl Roman Burt II, 29
• Deonka Diedra Drayton, 32
• Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
• Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25
• Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35
• Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50
• Amanda Alvear, 25
• Martin Benitez Torres, 33
• Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37
• Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26
• Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35
• Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 

The target

Patrons of the Pulse nightclub, which on its website describes itself as "the hottest gay bar in Orlando," were targeted. June is Pride Month. Between 300 and 350 people were at the club.

[VIDEO:  FBI investigation | Families of victims cope | Families await answers | Vigils held | Shooter's background | Ex-wife says gunman was troubled | Sound of gunfire shows intense battle]

There were dramatic new details about how some employees and patrons of the nightclub survived, according to a source close to the nightclub's owners and employees:

One person hiding in the bathroom covered herself with bodies to protect herself. She survived.

Some entertainers hid in the dressing room when the shooting started. They were able to escape the building when police removed the air conditioning unit and crawled out.

One of the bartenders said that she was hiding under the glass bar. Police came in and said, "If you are alive, raise your hand." Police got them out.

Florida Nightclub Shooting | Graphiq

Barbara Poma, owner of Pulse, released the following statement: "Like everyone in the country, I am devastated about the horrific events that have taken place today. Pulse, and the men and women who work there, have been my family for nearly 15 years. From the beginning, Pulse has served as a place of love and acceptance for the LGBTQ community. I want to express my profound sadness and condolences to all who have lost loved ones. Please know that my grief and heart are with you."

The shooter

The shooter, killed by officers, has been identified as Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, 29, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The suspect was from Fort Pierce, Florida. The shooter called 911 during the attack to pledge allegiance to ISIS and mentioned the Boston bombers, according to a U.S. official.

The family of the shooter told investigators Mateen wasn't particularly religious from what they observed. They expressed surprise about any connection to ISIS, according to two law enforcement officials. (He was born in New York to parents from Afghanistan.)

Two former high school classmates at two different schools remember Omar Mateen saying something to the effect that Osama bin Laden was his uncle. The classmates said that the September 11 attacks seemed to be a significant moment for him.

In an interview with CNN's Drew Griffin, the imam at the Fort Pierce Islamic Center, Shafiq Rheman, says Mateen was playful and more social when young, but recently kept to himself. Mateen would come two or three times a week for two hours and talk to no one.

[SEE MASS SHOOTING TIMELINE AT BOTTOM OF THIS STORY]

Mateen did express outrage to his father after seeing two men kissing in Miami, investigators say. Mateen's ex-wife told investigators he had issues with anger.

The shooter purchased a handgun and a long gun within the last few days, ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Trevor Velinor told reporters. "He is not a prohibited person. They can legally walk into a gun dealership and acquire and purchase firearms. He did so. And he did so within the last week or so," Velinor said.

Mateen was interviewed by the FBI in 2013 and 2014, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ronald Hopper told reporters. "Those interviews turned out to be inconclusive, so there was nothing to keep the investigation going," Hopper said.

Mateen was not under investigation at the time of the shooting and was not under surveillance, Hopper said.

According to a neighbor who saw him regularly, Mateen worked as a security guard at the Port St. Lucie courthouse. The neighbor said Mateen often worked security in the front of the building, manning the metal detectors.

Authorities are looking into possible self-radicalization.

Other locations

FBI teams, along with local law enforcement, are working to clear the apartment where the shooter lived in Fort Pierce, a federal law enforcement told CNN.

Agents are going through the apartment with bomb squads and investigating materials there, the source said.

Reaction

"This is clearly an act of terrorism," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Sunday as he spoke to reporters about the shooting. "It's sickening," he said. "It should make every American angry."

President Barack Obama addressed the nation, calling the Orlando attack an "act of terror and an act of hate." He ordered flags to be flown at half-staff. This is the 15th time Obama has made an address in response to a mass shooting.

Obama's first campaign appearance with presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been postponed because of the Orlando shootings, the campaign announced.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the Orlando nightclub terror attack on jihadi forums, but ISIS sympathizers reacted by praising the attack on pro-Islamic State forums, according to CNN Terrorism Analyst Paul Cruickshank.

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