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Orlando shooting: Barack Obama meets victims and pleads for unity

  • America is in mourning after the worst mass shooting in its history
  • Omar Mateen's attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando left 49 people dead
  • So-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack
  • President Obama says there is no clear evidence the gunman was directed by IS
  • Witnesses have claimed that Mateen was a regular visitor to the club he attacked
  • His wife said she tried to talk him out of conducting any kind of attack
  • His father has blamed security at the club for the attack
  • One gun shop refused to sell him ammunition as he was acting suspiciously

Follow the latest updates on ITV News.

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FBI: Shooter may have 'leanings' towards IS

Police at the scene Credit: EBU

The gunman who shot at least 20 people in an Orlando nightclub might have had leanings toward Islamic State militants but this requires further investigation, a senior FBI official said.

When asked if the FBI suspected the gunman might have had inclinations toward militant Islam, Assistant FBI Agent Ronald Hopper said: "We do have suggestions that the individual may have leanings toward that particular ideology. But right now we can't say definitively."

Danny Banks, special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said: "Do we consider this an act of terrorism? Absolutely, we are investigating this from all parties' perspective as an act of terrorism."

He added: "Whether that is domestic terrorist activity or an international one, that is something we will certainly get to the bottom of."

President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to provide any assistance needed to Florida police investigating the shooting, the White House said in a statement.

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Orlando shooting: Barack Obama meets victims and pleads for unity

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