did they provide them other type of support? and as you suggest, it looks like this shooter is from outside the area. number two, as heavily armed as he is with both a rifle and a handgun, it sounds like this was likely a planned event. now how planned, we don't know. but at least the individual being there multiple weapons at this precise location, this all appears to be part of a plan as opposed to a happenstance. >> yeah, the police say he was well-prepared and organized. stand by, clint. as we update our viewers here at the top of the hour. if you are just joining us, we are following breaking news out of florida at this hour. police say at least 20 people are dead, including the gunman, after the shooting at an orlando nightclub early this morning. what they are calling an act of terror. at least 42 people were transported to local hospitals with injuries. the sure, police say, was armed

with an assault-type rifle and handgun. he opened fire at the pulse nightclub around 2:00 eastern time. police have not yet confirmed a motive, but they say they are still considering all possibilities. >> approximately 0202 hours this morning, we had an officer working at pulse nightclub who responded to shots fired. our officer engaged in a gun battle with that suspect. the suspect at some point went back inside the club where more shots were fired. this did turn into a hostage situation. from there, obviously, multiple officers from various agencies responded. s.w.a.t. team responded. at approximately 0500 hours this morning, the decision was made to rescue hostages that were in there. our s.w.a.t. officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect. the suspect is dead.

he appeared to be carrying a rifle, an assault-type rifle and a handgun and had some type of device on him. that's what we're doing right now, checking the area for devices. >> we are investigating this from all parties' perspective as an act of terrorism. any time that we have potentially dozens of victims in any of our communities, i think we can qualify that as a terrorist activity. whether that's a domestic terrorist activity or international one is certainly something we will get to the bottom. >> so we made the decision to do an explosive entry on the outside of the club to get to those people. we also used the armored vehicle to help defeat that wall. and from there we were able to rescue people and our s.w.a.t. team at that time encountered the suspect somewhere in that area near one of the doorway

entrances. and shot -- killed him. >> want to bring in now nbc sarah dallof reporting for us. since word happened in the overnight hours and she updates on what's happening now, sarah. >> reporter: we want to show the scene on the ground right now. we have seen city buses come to pick up witnesses, survivors from the nightclub, presumably to take them down to the police station to get their statement. the police are asking one who escaped the club to give their statement. they say all information now is key to their investigation. let's show you the presence here on-scene. we have seen it transform pretty dramatically since this morning when we had about 50 police cars here. maybe a dozen, 20 cars still remain. one helicopter up there in the sky. and the crime scene techs have moved into that nightclub. you heard in the press

conference saying they were still looking for possible explosive devices and investigating that. so still holding off on this perimeter here. we haven't been able to move any closer. but the latest here is they are working on the scene, they are asking anyone who was in that nightclub, francis, to please come forward and speak to police. back to you. >> all right. sarah dallof, thank you very much for that update. considering what's happening now as far as the investigation and where law enforcement go from this point, i want to bring in clint van zandt, an msnbc contributor, joining by phone. you were talking about what law enforcement are going to be looking for as far as piecing together information about the shooter and also a possible motive, clint. it's also crucial to get information from witnesses and witness accounts. and i know that's something they're doing now, as sarah is reporting, busing these people and witnesses there to the police station to try and get -- whatever they can from them to piece this together. >> well, it is. realize, there are multiple

investigations going on at the same time. as you suggest, number one, you've got the investigation with the individuals inside the restaurant that are being interviewed. either those who were not wounded and there will be officers and agents at the hospital to interthose who are wounded and able to talk. there will be a massive crime scene investigation at the bar itself, trying to identify all the forensics. and there will be yet a third and perhaps a fourth investigation as law enforcement is both working on the identity of the shooter and trying to find out everything they can about his background. and no, that's normally -- they look at his cell phone. they look at his computer. they look at his recent travels. today, you can pull the plug on somebody's car and see where that car has been. so there's going to be a lot of technical and shoe leather type of investigation to not only identify the shooter, but try to

look at this shooter's background probably for at least the last 30 days to see was this a lone wolf, had he been put up to it, was he targeting one person, was he targeting the bar, the community? there's a lot of questions that have to be answered. and, again, because of the potential of other people somehow supporting the shooter, law enforcement has to move very quickly on that aspect of it to identify the shooter and anyone who possibly helped him. >> we know, clint, that initially when the shooting first happened, there was already a uniformed officer inside the club that engaged, along with two officers who followed, engaged in a gun battle with the shooter. at some point, the shooter went back out, ran back inside, developed into a hostage situation, and then other officers called in, engaged again, breaking through the explosive devices, the armored vehicle, to kind of break through the wall to get to the

shooter and shoot him. one of those officers was hurt, has been injured. but was saved by his helmet, as we are told, by police. but it could have been a very different outcome if the officer wasn't there, followed by the two. in that sense, as well. and especially when it comes to the 30 people they say they rescued afterwards. >> yeah. when you say a normal police response could be -- depending on the area of town, anywhere from, say, two to three minutes to five or ten minutes, there could have been a much greater slaughter, loss of human life, than there was. now, realize, when the shooter retreats back into the bar and it turns into a hostage situation, law enforcement has to do a number of things. number one, they either have to assemble the number of patrol officers outside and/or get a s.w.a.t. team onscene and then plans to make a tactical entry. they have two different ways to do that. they either make a decision immediately, we've got to go or

they take time and make a plan. that's where the hostage negotiator that was called on-scene. if he or she were able to contact the subject, we normally say if we can keep them talking, they're not shooting. but there came a time because of the volume of shots inside, a decision from the on-scene commander input from s.w.a.t. and the hostage negotiators, they made a decision, we've got to go in for the safety of the remaining people inside. at that time, a tactical entry was done. they used a vehicle to breach at least the wall or window of the building. they drew in die veergsnary devices, what we call flash bangs. we're told at least nine officers went in, engaged the subject in a gun battle. the subject was killed at that time. >> talk to me in detail from what you know in if your experience. what goes into play in making that decisions and the communications they're having with the shooter? police had told us they were

contacted by about 15 people who were in the bathroom, and that factored into their decision in breaking through. >> well, i've been involved in those decisions a number of times as an fbi hostage negotiator. part of what you're dealing, kind of a cost benefit analysis. in essence, if we go in right now, do we have a greater chance of success or do we have a greater chance of even more people being injured or killed? that cost benefit analysis has to be considered by the on-scene commander. you have to consider the information coming from inside from witnesses and those wounded that have already been evacuated and from the s.w.a.t. team saying we're ready to go. and perhaps the hostage negotiator saying i think i can keep the shooter on the phone if this is the time you're going to go in. so there is an input from a lot of people going on. but realize, the primary -- the whole concern there is to get in there and stay in vibes, but not

provoke the loss of more lives. so that's a delicate balance that law enforcement has to do in a situation like this. >> all right. clint van zandt, msnbc contributor and profiler. thank you very much. this as we are awaiting another police briefing at 9:30 a.m. eastern time. of course, when that happens, we'll bring the very latest information, especially one significantly on the death toll to see if there have been any more people who may have lost their lives in this nightclub shooting in orlando. i want to play some sound right now from the last police briefing, the first in the morning that happened within the last hour. when it -- involves the police chief, the fbi and other law enforcement. >> questions afterward, answer what they can. but then we'll continue to provide updates as the day goes on. >> tonight, our community

witnessed or experienced a very horrific crime. many lives were host and many more individuals were impacted by witnessing the crime. many were saved, however, by the heroic efforts of the men and women of opd, the orange county sheriff's office, seminole county sheriff's office. we have great cooperation from fdle and the fbi, all of our law enforcement agencies, fire departments from orlando, seminole county and orange county. and all of the hospital personnel that have been working through the night. we are a strong, resilient community. tonight we had a crime that will have a lasting effect on our community. we need to stand strong, we need to be supportive of the victims and their families. we would ask chief mina to explain what happened. >> good morning. so at approximately 0202 hours

this morning, we had an officer working at pulse nightclub, who responded to shots fired. our officer engaged in a gun battle with that suspect. the suspect at some point went back inside the club where more shots were fired. this did turn into a hostage situation. from there, obviously, multiple officers from various agencies responded. s.w.a.t. team responded. at approximately 0500 hours this morning, the decision was made to rescue hostages that were in there. our s.w.a.t. officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect. the suspect is dead. he appeared to be carrying a rifle, an assault-type rifle, and a handgun. and had some type of device on him. that's what we're doing right now, checking the area for

devices. there are multiple people that are dead inside. i don't want to give anyone a number right now, but multiple are dead inside pulse nightclub. and at least 42 people have been transported to various hospitals around. so do not have an exact count. obviously, our condolences go out to the friends and family. we're going to continue to work with the fbi and department of law enforcement and orange county sheriff's office on this joint investigation. and at this time, i'll turn it over to the sheriff. >> thank you, chief. while this certainly is a tragedy for our community, i will reiterate what mayor dire said. that this community is resilient. and this is a time in which we all should come together. the orange county sheriff's office responded along with the orlando police department to the initial incident. there were deputy sheriffs involved with the orlando police

personnel on the initial entry, just after 2:00 a.m. this morning. in addition to that, members of my hazardous device team responded, and have been engaged in helping to secure the scene, as well. we have had as many as about 100 of my personal who have been actively engaged in this incident. i will also reiterate that this is a collaborative effort between our federal, state and local law enforcement authorities. at this time, the central florida intelligence exchange center has been activated. that is our intelligence-sharing consortium for this region. we will be working along with the fbi as well as the other law enforcement agencies as this investigation continues. again, what i will say to our community is that if you are

aware of any of the activities that may have led up to this horrific scene to share that information with your local law enforcement authorities, as we move forward, we will every effort that we can to ensure that this community remains a safe and secure community. commitment from all of the local law enforcement ainls agency. we have police agencies who have committed to work to that endeavor. and if you see some suspicious type activity, we have shared with this community in the past, our expectation is that you say something about it. if there is anything that looks unusual, at this point, this is an incident, as i see it, that we can certainly classify as a domestic terror incident.

at this point, i believe the next brief is going to be the supervisor, agent in charge of the department of law enforcement officer, officer danny banks. >> thank you, sheriff. i'll reiterate a couple things already said. importantly, i know one of the most important questions for the state and even nationally, do we consider this an act of terrorism? absolutely, we are investigating this from all parties' perspective, as an act of terrorism. >> law enforcement in orlando, florida, briefing us on the circumstances, following the shooting from at the pulse nightclub, leaving at least 20 people and 42 taken to the hospital. i want to bring in malcolm nance, our msnbc terrorism al lift, saying this is an act of terror. of course, we have to be very sensitive in saying whether it's

domestic or international, especially this early on in the investigation. >> well, you're absolutely correct. and the fact that the fbi themselves have labeled it an act of terrorism should just let us know, this means it was an act carried out to inspire fear from other people. you know, not the immediate victi victims. so it doesn't matter whether it's domestic or international. the target set gave some indication as to perhaps some of the ideological motivation of the shooter. but everything at this point is speculative, outside of the initial assault to rescue those hostages, which was absolutely prilt. until we develop a profile of the shooter himself and what were his motivations. it doesn't matter whether they were religiously inspired. this person wanted to incite fear against the population, which is the united states, no matter who the victims were themselves.

and that is the defines definition of terrorism. >> and you consider also the language used, the sensitivity of it when it comes to the fbi in something like this and also how specific that language has to be, given the fact we know so little about the gunman at this point. >> yeah, you're absolutely right about that. listen, most situations where you're involved with a emotionally disturbed person or a gunman, you see immediately they are referred to as an active murder situation. for the fbi to say you have a hostage barricade, 30 hostages kept in there, this person murdered 20 people. it wasn't just a mass shooting. they believe -- probably have information related to this in some way that's not going to be releas released any time soon, this had an ideological bend to it and

it's just a question of what that will be. >> sorry to interrupt. but to that point, if you're saying they may have some information, we know that there is a news conference scheduled for 9:30 eastern time this morning. what more could they tell us? do you think they may be able to speak to that? so soon? >> well, sure. like -- sure, absolutely. it just depends on what they found on the crime scene themselves, and whether it's beneficial to determine whether it's releasable to the public. there may have been co conspirators here. there may have been other parties. you know, they're going to -- like cliff van zandt said earlier. they're going to go through the type of equipment he carried, where he acquired weapons, and they're going to work this backwards, out to see where did he come from? did he have a safe house? did he have other people supporting him? was it a group terrorist incident with one shooter or was

this just a lone gunman? and that's what's most important. so they may have found things on the crime scene which immediately identify the ideology of the victim. that could be leaflets, banners or what was written on his body armor. we don't know at this point. >> at this point, would you say it's likely we'll find something like that? when you have someone who is well-prepared, well-organized, really intended to do harm, the mass casualty we're seeing now. you would think they want to make their reasons, their cause known. >> yeah, you're absolutely right. what we see in most domestic terrorism incidents, and earlier it was referenced, eric robert rudolph and timothy mcveigh. they tend to do terrorism by deed. you know, they tend to strike the target, which immediately identifies what their social grievance was. we see other groups international terrorists or an internationally inspired

terrorist who may be operating within the united states. they tend to bring the banners and the signs with them in order to popularize that. we just don't know at this point, unless that material is found on the crime scene, whereas you could do analytical forensics of the computer, like what we saw with the san bernardino shooters where you work it back and determine what their ideological bent was. but the name of the shooter, the religion of the shooter won't initially tell you a lot about this. you know, you can't say, whether that person is a christian oregon muslim. but the target does tell us, which is this nightclub. that will immediately put a team of investigators to analyze who were the groups that may have threatened the -- this nightclub or people from this community. and that will give us a lot of indications about where to go in

the investigation. >> all right. malco malcolm nance, good could have your perspective here. as we continue to follow this breaking story out of orlando, florida, where approximately 20 people are dead after the shooting there. 42 people taken to the hospital. as this investigation is continuing, that shooting first began at 2:00 in the morning local time with uniformed police officers engaging in a gun battle, developed into a hostage situation came in, a total of nine officers came in. and after some time, they saw it fit, made the decision to enter in, using explosive devices, armored vehicles to enter, rescue about 30 people. and in the gun battle that en e ensued, one officer was hurt. saved by his helmet, according to police. i want to bring in former fbi special agent, bill gavin. and as we look and see from the tactical part of the investigation that's going on right now, as you see from ariel views at the bottom right bottom

of your screen and other officers as well. from the fbi standpoint, this is where the fbi is involved, trying to find out more about this person, who he is, other than he was well-prepared and organized. and not from the area, from what we know. >> yes, that's exactly what's going on right now. i'm sure that from the remains of the shooter himself, they'll probably determine whether or not he had some identification and start at that particular point in time. they will go backwards, go to his home, his computer, if he has a computer and everybody does these days, is all-important. they'll scrub that to see where he's been, who he might have been associated with. and that goes back to the very question of is it a domestic or an international terrorism case. there's just not enough public information to support a definite conclusion, but they will soon come out with some sort of a conclusion on that. they will also be looking for his car, they'll be looking for

any associates he might have. it's going to be a very dynamic investigation. and from what i've heard, he is not a local individual. >> this, as they are gathering information from witnesses, from our reporters on the ground who tell us they were at one point busing witnesses to the police department to find out more information. how easy is that going to be to gather all of the accounts, from as many -- you know, it was reported as many as 300 people were in this club, different rooms, and gathering all of that information. and funneling it to, you know, one manner in which they can say, okay, this is what may have happened, and this is what we're looking at forensically. >> it's a very difficult task. as you can well imagine, and as you have seen in your career, people are going to have a different outlook on exactly what happened. they're going to see the same thing and interpret it in a different way. and that all has to be interpreted by the police department and all has to be unfolded to determine where each

one of them were, what they saw, when they saw it. what they heard. whether or not they were going to go before the shooting to see if there was anything unusual. they're going to go through all of that and it's going to be a difficult task. bull they will do it. >> difficult task in in his in gathering information for however many people and witnesses were there. but also, you consider the emotional toll here of all the people who witnessed this, witnessed this gunman inside and a gun battle with police. the honl situati hostage situate people in the bathroom. we have heard from them describing it as in shock, because they thought it was part of the music, only to find it was a shooting and ultimately having to crawl over bodies to get out of this nightclub. it's one thing to get information, but also another to deal with them and help them in this time of trauma in crisis. >> that will all be part of what they're doing right now in terms

of interviewing them. also, i'm sure they'll have psychologists, psychiatrists stab by to attend to the emotional needs of these people. what these -- their emotional state depends upon what they can remember accurately and what they can remember as to what they actually saw. the emotional state, the emotions run very high. and the police department is now very sensitive to those kinds of incidents. >> bill stand by for a second. i want to bring in sarah dallof. is there any indication from your vantage point that the investigation is still going on as far as where we left it last when they were still inside trying to look for any possible explosive devices? >> reporter: we have been given no indication whether they have cleared the scene for investigators to go inside yet or if they are still looking for possible suspicious devices. they say this gunman had a suspicious device on his person.

they say there was also possibly one in a car. and earlier we did see k-9 units, possibly sniffing for any suspicious devices here. so still an active investigation, an active scene, as far as we know. however, we have seen the crime scene vehicles come up here on-scene, as we wait for them to clear that nightclub so that they can bring in the necessary technicians and begin the terrible job of bringing out the bodies. we have also seen city buses pull up here on the street. they have been busing the survivors, we presume, to the police department to give statements. the police department issuing a public plea for anyone in the nightclub to come downtown and give their statement. >> all right. sarah dallof there for us outside the scene of this nightclub shooting in orlando. that scene, as you can see from the aerial point and the map south orange avenue between esther and kaly street.

i'm also giving information here, reaction, especially -- we are hearing from the presidential candidate, donald trump, who has tweeted this. really bad shooting in orlando. hang on just a second, bill. i apologize. i want to get this out there. really bad shooting in orlando, police investigating possible terrorism. that tweet coming from donald trump, just the first of the reaction we're hearing this morning. as it is coming up in the half hour with many people waking up, hearing about this news. and again, so many times upon hearing it, even in our news room, it's that reaction of here we are again. here we are, reports of another mass casualty shooting. this one happening in orlando, florida, overnight at the pulse nightclub with so far 20 people dead, 42 people taken to the hospital. and multiple people dead

inside -- those bodies inside the nightclub. within the next hour, we are expecting another update from police, as they have provided us with some significant information there, how many people are dead and hurt and also out of the nine officers involved in the shootout. one was hurt. and also, the very little they told us about the gunman, he was well-prepared, organized. they know he is not from the orlando area. it seemed like they knew possible identity of this shooter, still trying to positively identify it. bill galvin, if i can bring you back in, at this point -- you know, whether there are so many aspects and branches of this investigation, as we can see now, this scene is growing. where do they stand as far as gathering evidence in a time line and when they can decide that it is time to remove some of the bodies that are there inside the club? >> well, as you can well imagine, this is an active crime scene right now and will be for a number of hours.

i think in terms of removing bodies, it depends upon some of the local laws and corners, the individual is probably going to give the permission for removal of those bodies. it is a crime scene, there will be multiple crime scenes once they have identified where this individual is from. so it's a very difficult, complex and broad-based investigation at this particular point in time. >> all right. what can you tell us as we look at the images here about the club and from what we know. again, from our witness accounts and knowing this a fairly large club. at the time, we know there were 300 people inside the club. multiple rooms inside. over to the right of this image here, you see a covered patio area where i'm sure a lot of people are. when you have that many people inside one venue, and there are accounts of officers screaming get out, get out and even a tweet at 3:00 a.m., that tweet urging people to get out and run.

what happens during that time among the chaos, with the officers in there and knowing this shooter went outside and back inside? >> it is a panic situation. as you -- if you and i were in there, francis, we would be moving toward an exit to get away from the shooting. and that's exactly what happens. with 300 people, i don't know anything about the background of the club. i don't know what kind of a clientele, whether it was young people, a mixture, alternative lifestyle, i don't know. >> all of the above, actually, according to our witness account and reporting. a very diverse club. billed as a gay club, but also known to be very diverse. i believe saturday night, latin saturdays with three deejays and also a midnight show and when you hear the time line, midnight show at 2:00 in the morning, you know, with a capacity there and 300 people, all walks of life. >> and the thing too, with the shows going on and the music,

and as you well know, those clubs get to be pretty loud. some people might not have had any idea what was going on. until such time as they started to -- people started to flee the club itself. it could have been totally -- could be another portion of the club. so their version of what happened during the examination of the crime scene and during the interviews following right now is going to be different than the people who were actually witnessing and seeing and heard what went on. >> i wonder if we have this video, if i can ask. it was pretty compelling and shows just -- you know, the response in having people come in. there was one video that when you see it, bill, there is one victim being taken out by law enforcement and either witnesses and loaded into a pickup truck. and i know, you know, where the police officer there, response was fairly quick. and emergency personnel, and the emts coming in. but as far as a response in knowing there was already a uniformed police officer inside the venue, what can you say

about that and how they went about it? >> i think probably with the uniformed officer there and other uniformed officers within the immediate area to assist him, i think that was a blessing, almost, for the reaction to this whole event. it probably could have been a lot worse if the law enforcement authorities couldn't get the proper manpower to the scene. >> here's that video, bill. i don't know if you have a monitor. excuse me for interrupting. but here is that video, so compelling. this isn't even an emergency vehicle. or it may be. but those are the blinking lights. but loaded in -- yeah, it is unmarked. but a pickup truck. or you can see they're just carrying these victims. when you have a time line where they spoke to us about an hour ago, 7:30 local time and updating us two hours later have that scheduled. what does that tell you? what other information can they give us, other than maybe updating the number of people dead or injured? >> well, they're going to be able to maybe -- if, in fact,

it's convenient for them or if it makes sense to release any information about the actual shooting, about the actual shooter himself, in order to solicit information from relatives, friends, or anything like that. if it suits them, they will do that. i'm looking at the picture of the pickup truck, and i can tell you, based on the officers and the individuals involved, in serious condition. >> so tough to watch that. i know that's the reality. 42 people taken to the hospital. one of them nearby orlando regional medical center, three blocks away. also others, arnold palmer hospital, some victims transported there, as well. stand by. as we get a little bit more information here, bill, there was one witness inside the club when the shooting started and describe what happened. and this is what they had to say. >> moving here, this is my first nightclub, being here two

months. i didn't know it was latin. i didn't understand the music, but i still danced, i'm still wet. i don't know if it's sweat, blood, but i know it's under my nails. and it was tragic. >> what did you hear? >> loud, banging noises, like gunshots going off, of course. i wasn't sure if it was the music. i thought it was a song or something. because it's -- it went with the beat, almost, until you heard just too many shots. it was just like, bang, bang, bang! bang, bang, bang! that's when you know chaos -- it was in turmoil. there had to have been more than or two. had to have been. there was no way. or an extended clip. i don't know much about guns, but it sounded like it could have been a handgun. i went to a range once or twice. that's kind of what it sounded like. without the ear muffs, it sounded so real. but it was far enough away where it didn't echo in my ears. or on the edge by the stage. it was probably 1:30.

>> were you here alone or with friends? >> i came here with someone. they left, so i stayed. and so i didn't stay alone. we were down here, because they said there was a bomb threat so we're down here sitting on the corner, five or six blocks from the car. i don't know how far the bar is, actually. i'm not from here -- >> what are you feeling? >> shock. shaken a little bit. i didn't think i would ever have to save somebody who was shot. i'm glad i wasn't shot. i feel sorry for those that were and the families that did have victims in there. it was just a sad, sad situation. seeing tags and everybody lying there, red and yellow. i helped tag red and helped put him on the stretcher and then they moved me out of the way. and the other girl i helped get on but they tagged her, but i

stayed with her and i said i'm not leaving you. and they let us go. and i was like, i'll help with the other people, i'll try to do what i can. you could still hear the shooting in the parking lot. so i feel like they were still in there. i don't know if one was empty and the other was refilling. and there was another refill. it was just a very, very sad situation. trying to hold back my emotions, to be honest. it's just -- i didn't expect -- you just don't expect something like this. especially when you go out to have a good time. you don't go out to a bar to say, oh, i'm going to end my life tonight. you go to relax, to enjoy yourself. to let loose of the stresses of life. and not to cause more stress. and this -- is just a tragic situation. trag tragic moment. i went to see "conjuring 2" and then came out here. so to go from a horror movie to a real horror. >> if you had to count, how many

shots do you think there were? >> oh, more than 20 or 30. it was one after another after another after another. and it could have lasted a whole song. because after everybody was out, people -- the shootings were still going and the cops were yelling, go, go! clear the area, clear the area and we're like -- so when i bent down to help this guy, it's like -- are you kidding? and it's like, you're still watching yourself. and then you see people on the side of buildings and i wasn't sure if they were somebody hiding. because you don't know who is what, where, and you're just like, oh, man. because you can't go anywhere because the valet has your keys. >> did you see any gunfire at all? >> i didn't see any gunfire or the shooters. i hit the ground and just called out. because i was right by -- i was near the exit by the couches. there is a vip section.

and there was a bathroom right there. i crawled my way out from the bathroom area. >> just one of the accounts from the witnesses, one of the people there inside the pulse nightclub as this shooting happened overnight. again, waking up now to this news that at least 20 people are dead from this gun battle. and a 42 people hurt. just passing on some information from orlando regional medical center, three blocks away from the pulse nightclub. they are urging people, family members, friends, anybody that they may think may be in the hospital to come to the main entrance of the orlando regional medical center's north tower. i.d. is required. this, as you can imagine, from so many people, family members, who can't get ahold of their loved ones. there at the nightclub. but they are being urged to either go to the police department or if you have reason to believe they are at the orlando regional medical center,

they are saying to come to the main entrance of that. also, orlando police and the fbi urging anybody with any information about this to call the fbi hotline. 1-800-call-fbi. this is one point, the orlando police was busting some of the witnesses, some of the people inside the club. busing the people to the police department for interviews, witness accounts, trying to gather as much information as they can so they can piece together the events of what happened, what led up to this shooting, and possibly even find out more about the shooter. all they told us publicly, this was the shooter well-prepared, organized, had with them an assault-type weapon and a handgun. not from the orlando area. and they suggested that they may know who this shooter is, but they are still trying to positively identify. i want to turn to sarah dallof.

and as you're joining us, are people still coming up? i can imagine there are so many questions now, even hours later, where people are waking up to find out information, if their loved one or friends were there. do you see any of them coming up to the club area? >> reporter: not right now. the police still keeping people a ways away, and the hospitals have reached out publicly, hoping to direct people who are looking for their loved ones, hoping to reunite. it's just about a block away from the clubs so they can begin this process. these families, obviously, terrified. 42 injured, and 20 people dead. and right now, not a lot of information as to who is who right now. so families worried about the worst and praying for the best right now, francis. >> there are reports we have not yet confirmed here at msnbc or

nbc that the governor of florida has been made aware. we're coming up on the 9:00 hour here. are you hearing any information as far as this next briefing expected at 9:30? who else may be there? >> reporter: we do expect to hear from multiagencies, again in the first briefing we heard from the police department, the sheriff's office, the fbi, as well as the mayor. so we are expecting to hear from multiple agencies, again. and that just really speaks to the enormity of this scene and of this crime. there are so many agencies involved right off the bat. each working a separate piece and coming together, hoping to give a big picture and what motivated this man to walk into a busy nightclub on a -- well, not saturday night, but the early hours of sunday morning with an assault type rifle and a handgun. and to open fire on people enjoying the weekend, latin night at the club. a lot of questions about his motivation right now.

one of them being this is advertised as a gay nightclub. however, we are told it is very diverse and open to all people of sexual or yens and walks of life. was this place targeted because it advertised as a gay club? >> and especially the diversity, as you talked about, with saturdays known as latin night. and you think of the scale of three deejays and a midnight show. we are hearing more reaction, the mayor of orlando tweeting just a moment ago, our community experienced a horrific crime today. our hearts and prayers with the victims and their families. he continues on to tweet, saying despite the fact that tonight's crime will have a lasting effect, we are a strong community. the actions of first responders and hospitals have saved many lives. and we heard that directly from a law enforcement as they were talking about this hostage situation and the rescue. and there are operations

breaking through the wall with 15 people held up in the bathroom. police saying they were able to save about 30 people in that rescue. i want to bring in jim cavanaugh. as you hear about that. and just by the numbers alone. when you factor the numbers, over 300 people there inside. so far, 20 people dead, jim. and over 42 hurt with 9 officers who are involved. only one was hurt, saved by his helmet. what can you tell take away from that? >> well, just really does look like there was a lot of planning, the person, assailant picked this club for a reason. 63 people wounded by the person with an assault rifle inside. 63 people. 42 wounded, 20 dead, approximately, and an officer shot. that's quite an event. and he had a device on him, maybe in his car, according to the chief. we had a handgun.

he probably had some kind of a vest, we have heard a description. so he had a reason, a person, to go to this place, in his own mind, as sick as that may be. and he wanted to reap the carnage. like pete williams said earlier, that maybe it was a random pick. but, you know, it also could be that he targeted this club. for a specific reason. he has a lot of planning and preparation and picked that place at that time of night. so they're going to have to pick that apart when they get his identification, his wallet, cell phone. that's the beginning, car, apartment, computer, postings, writings, associates. who is he? why does he attack this club? is he attacking it for a reason? who goes there, who attends there? is it just because it's a diverse club and he hates diverse people? you know, there's a lot of domestic terrorists we crass classify that do that, rooted in

white hate movements. so it could be that. but the fbi has also said they haven't ruled out internationally inspired reporters. so it's sort of unclear there. and i don't think they're telling us that all violent mass murders terrorize. because all violent mass murders do terrorize. and when you have a shooting in a nightclub, you know, a lot of times it's someone kicked out, thrown out of the nightclub, barred from the nightclub. they want to get back at the nightclub and its patrons because they have done wrong. and you have a lot of times revenge motives when you have nightclub shootings. and some of those can be very bad, multiple victims. but that doesn't seem to ring true here, if you have somebody coming in with a bomb and rifle and gun. it's not like they were just thrown out, they went to the car and came back. it's more like they planned to do this, and they wanted a high casualty count. >> something that law enforcement definitely made known in their news conference, saying he was well-prepared, the

shooter was organized, as well as a possible explosive device. we'll check back later on. we thank you for your time for now. but as we continue to follow this breaking news, on this sunday morning, the community of orlando, florida, in central florida, as well as the nation waking up to news of yet another shooting. this one a mass casualty shooting. 20 people dead, 42 people taken to the hospital. and another update expected at 9:30 from law enforcement. for now, we'll take a quick break.

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a gunman armed with an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire at the pulse nightclub that was around 2:00 a.m. eastern time with more than 300 people inside the club at the time. three area hospitals have received about 42 people who were hurt in this shooting. the suspect is dead, following a shootout with law enforcement. police say that he was not from the orlando area, but they have not yet confirmed a motive for the crime. they say he was well-prepared and organized. >> our community witnessed or experienced a very horrific crime. many lives were lost and many more individuals impacted by witnessing the crime. many were saved, however, by the heroic efforts of the men and women of opd, the orange county sheriff's office, seminole county sheriff's office. >> i want to bring in brian levin, the center for hate at cal state. as you heard this earlier, and

as far as the language that the fbi used in saying terrorism and it seems like they are very sensitive and specific in the language they used, especially this early on in the investigation. >> yeah. the fbi has two sets of classifications with regard to terrorism. on the one side, what they call domestic includes everything basically but violent, jihadist, extremist terrorism. even if someone is inspired by overseas radicals, such as isis, al qaeda, but they have no direct operational connection, they're still going to call it islamic terrorism. even if it doesn't have any other component or inspiration. so far, what we know, at least for now, it looks like, at least for now, a lone wolf. so the most likely type of

assailant is a lone wolf. the issue is, is it a violent right wing extremist or a violent jihadist ex timist? and when they come out this early and also didn't identify a name yet, it points in a direction, but not conclusively. the number of deaths since 9/11 has been almost even. with respect to violent jihadists and domestic american ex timist, which the fbi would call anything in the right wing, left wing, white nationalists, black nationalists. but again, with regard to islamic extremism, even someone homegrown, they're going to call it islamic extremism. and certainly, we have seen from both sides of the spectrum. white ring extremists target gay establishments, but we have also seen isis put out videos showing

them torturing gay people. but it looks like more lone wolf here. they know who it is already by a long shot. they're sitting on it. >> what do you think they're waiting for? more information in trying to find out who this person may be linked to, who may have helped this person? who else out there may know more? why do you think they're holding out if you say they do know who it is and publicly releasing the identity of this shooter? >> because at this point it doesn't help them to release it. what they're going to do is scour social networks. there are warrants being executed where he was, they're looking at his credit card statements. and right now, they can get more information immediately without being obstructed. without having news crews showing up at this guy's last residence. and apparently he traveled the distance. they have to coordinate with law enforcement agencies, and potentially internationally.

they're going to check to see who has this person been in communication with? as of now, unless we have evidence otherwise, it probably is a lone wolf who has been inspired by extremistextremists. the question is, which type? whoever it is, is going to now make that particular extremist entity, our top two that are centers looking at south jih jihadists followed in perverse second place by far right wing extremists here in the united states, both who express the antipathy for the lgbt community. also, let's look at one other thing. could be a deranged person. psychologically dangerous, absolutely. >> what are the homeworks of that? if you consider you're talking about jihadism, right wing extremism, and the overall scope of terrorism, but let's say this say disgruntled employee, somebody who had an ex-girlfriend they thought was there at the club?

>> sure. look, the precinct where i used to work is a new york city police officer, the then 34th precinct. had the worst acts of murder, the happy land social club when 87 people were killed when an assailant came in with gasoline, trying to kill his girlfriend who actually survived. here's what you look at. ideological, could be political, theological or both. second, psychologically dangerous. third, personal benefit or revenge. my guess is this is ideological, as a first choice. oftentimes, they're mixed. so you could have a deranged person, as well. >> we're certainly going to delve into that as we have more time later. i've got to take a quick break and squeeze that in. brian levin, stay with us. we'll be right back.

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the top of the hour, we begin with breaking news. francis rivera at msnbc headquarters in new york. a live look at the pulse night club this morning, where there is breaking news out of orlando, where police say as many as 20

people are dead after a shooting at that nightclub early this morning. it's what they are calling an act of terror. domestic or international. at least 42 people were transported to local hospitals with injuries. the shooter, armed with an assault-type rifle, and a handgun, opened fire at that nightclub around 2:00 a.m. eastern time. that shooting developed into a hostage situation before police made the decision to move in, using explosives and an armored vehicle to break through the walls. it was then they were able to shoot and kill the gunman and rescue about 30 people inside. police have not yet identified the shooter or confirmed a motive. but they say the shooter was well-prepared and organized. and they are considering all possibilities. >> at approximately 0202 hours this morning, we had an officer working at pulse nightclub, who responded to shots fired. our officer engaged in a gun