as americans, we are united in grief, in outrage and in resolve to defend our people. is i just finished a meting with director comey. the fbi is on the scene and leading the investigation in partnership with local law enforcement. i've directed that the full resources of the federal government be made available for this investigation. we are still learning all the facts. this is an open investigation. we've reached no definite sif judgme definitive judgment on the motivations of the killer. the fbi is appropriately investigating this ans as an act of terrorism and i've direct that had we must not spare anything to find out what association this killer may have had with terrorist groups. what is clear that he was a person filled with hatred. over the coming days, we'll

uncover why and how this happened and we will go wherever the facts lead us. this morning i spoke with my good friend orlando mayornd ico gel lechess of the american people. and whatever help he and the people of orlando need, they will get it. as a country we will be there for the people of orlando today, tomorrow and for all the days to come. we also express our profound gratitude to all the police and first responders who rushed to harm's way. their courage and professionalism saved lives. and kept the carnage from being even worse. its eelt ki it's the kind of sacrifice that our law phoenforcement make eve day and we can never thank them

enough. this is especially hard for our fellow americans who are lesbian, dlesbian gay, by sexual or transgender. shooter targeted a night club where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing and to live. a place where they were attacked is more than a night club, it is a place of solidarity and empowerment, where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds and to advocate for their civil rights. so this is a sobering reminder that attacks on any american, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation is an attack on all of us and fundamental values ofdignity. and no act of hate or terror will change who we are our or the values that make us merns. today marks the most deadly

shooting in american history. the shooter was apparently armed with a handgun and powerful assault rifle. this massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school or in a house of worship or a movie theater or in a night club. and we have to decide if that's the kind of country we need to be. arrest to being and to actively do nothing is a decision, as well. in the coming days we'll learn about the victims. their name, their faces, who they were, the joy that they brought to family and friends and the difference that they made in this world. say a prayer for them. say a prayer for their families. that god give them strength to bear the unbearable, that he give us all the strength to be

there to them and the strength and courage to demonstrate that we are designed more by the way we live their lives than we are by the hate of the man who took them from us. as we go together, we will draw inspiration from heroic and selfless acts. friends who helped friends, took care of each other and saved lives. in the face of hate and violence, we will love one another. we will not give into fear or turn against each other. instead, we wiwill stand uniteds americans to protect our people and defend our nation and to take action against those who threaten us. may god bless the americans we lost this morning. may he comfort their families. may god continue to watch over this country that we love. thank you. >> you where joining msnbc and

nbc special coverage of the massacre in orlando. we just heard from president obama. his first on-camera comments regarding what lplayed out in orlando. 50 people are dead, the president calling this an act of terrorism and an act of hate. the fbi according to the president now leading the investigation and he's pledged to the mayor of orlando any dibl help that that city needs. but we have a lot of information on the individual who police say carried out this act. my colleague pete williams joins us now. we heard the president mention again that this is the deadliest shooting in this country's history. he also touched upon the effort to propose gun legislation. but what you've reported and what our investigative team also has reported is that this individual omar mateened had acquired his guns legally, he

held a class g firearm license and he was a security guard and was able to have at least the handgun legally. >> so we don't know yet how he acquired the weapons. we know that he had a license to have a security guard happenndg but it would appear based on the number of casualties and rapidity of the gunfire that we've heard on these videos from the scene that he was also using what the police describe as an ar-15 style assault weapon. we're told by law enforcement that it had hire capacity magazines attached to it. when and where he got that, we don't know.capacity magazines attached to it. when and where he got that, we don't know. but the fact that he had the licenses would show that he had a break efficiency with firearms. because in order to have one of those licenses, you have to go to a gun range and show your pre-proceed fi

proficiency with weapons. we're check to see whether he had any exposure to the u.s. military. we know he was born in new york in 1986. he wenow he's lived in florida for the past decade or so. for some reason we don't know in 2006 he legally petitioned to change his name adding the they're mateen. he was born omar mir saddiqui. we know that he came to the attention of the fbi of three or four years ago because statements that he was making. i'm not sure where he was making them. perhaps social media most likely. of support for radical islamic beliefs. he was looked at by law enforcement, they didn't see anything further and they moved on. and then according to his father who has talked to nbc news, he believes that the precipitating event for this attack in orlando was two months ago or a couple

of months ago when mateen and family members were in miami, the father says he saw, mateen, saw men kissing and it outraged him, that mateen had his young son with him at the time and he became obsessed with it and the father believes that was the reason for it. on the other hand, we also know from several law enforcement officials that shortly before the shooting, mateen made a 911 phone call in which he expressed support for al baghdadi, the leader of isis. and we're toll d he made other statements on the scene, not whether that was on the 911 call or to other people in the room for other support of other terrorist acts. so that may well be why the president described this as both an act of terrorism and an act of hate. >> and let's me go thousand it peter alexander, he was in the room when the president gave the remarks.thousand it peter alexander, he was in the room when the president gave the remarks. we've talked about mass violence, gun control, this

president has led the country through such tragedy, but the first time he's had to describe something as an act of terror and an act of hate given that it was carried out at a night club popular with gays and lesbians. >> those were the most striking words. an act of terror and an agentct hate. the president comes before the country for the 15th time speaking following a mass shooting in this country. he was careful with his language saying at this time there is no dwef difference judgment on the motivations of the killer. again, though acknowledging that all beliefs are that this was in some form an act of terror. the president had wrapped up a heating with james comey as well as members of the president's counterterrorism and homeland security teams led by an adviser by the name of lisa monaco. it was also notable that the president remarked about how the

community that was struck by this was the gay and gonzalez bh lesbian community in orlando. the president has presided over expansion of rights for the lgbt community. i was struck by the somber nature of his remarks today. the matter of factness, though, in which he declared that this was such an awful act of terror and an afgt hatct of hate. being clear that he wants to wait before any further judgments are made to allow investigators to do their work. >> and peter, going back to how the president has chosen to describe this, this is part of the political conversation that has happening right now, the gop front runner commenting on this, h hillary clinton, as well. how is the white house juggling at this hour the new developing includes t911 caller made by th

shooter declaring his al leenlee to isai to isis? >> the white house has now lowered the flag above the residence to half-staff, problem cla ma problem practice hags just out. but to answer your question more directly, i think broadly speaking, members of the administration would suggest that while radical islam may be the ideology that motivates killers, accessibility of as suggest weapons in this country is what allows them to perpetrate those crimes, to be able to complete the acts of violence that may be only in their head. those are not mutually exclus e exclusive. the feeling broadly being that there is no way that you can stop the radicalization of

individuals, including this one an american born citizen living in florida from becoming influenced simply by use of the internet perhaps, but what you can stop is the access to weapons that enable that person to be able to perpetrate what is in fact now the worst mass shooting in this country's history. >> peter, thank you. i want to remind ourour audienc we're waiting for an update on the ground in orlando including appli police chief mina. meanwhile i want to go to the ground where sarah dallof is standing by, she's been at the scene all morning. what is the latest there now? >> we're outside the hospital right now where many of the injured were taken following the shooting. and as friends and family begin to leave the hospital, they have been waiting for information, we're hearing terrible things about people just realizing that their friends have died, that they are among the 50 killed. some people unfortunately still

having to leave with no information. one young man who came here to try to find his friend had woken up and see a facebook post his friend had written that said i've been shot at the club, losing blood, love you all. so this is the information that people have to go on right now. as we said, 50 dead and 53 injured and for people who haven't been able to get a hold of their loved ones, not knowing right now is very difficult as you can imagine. now, we talked to also some of the people who were inside the club when this happened. and they have ban sharing their tales of survival. let's hear there ofrom one of t about. >> there was an exclusiplosion remember dodging next to a van and just quivering. going through all that shooting and then hearing the explosion,

you just never know. i'm just nadgladded eded i mad. >> reporter: that was chris hansen and he managed to make to safety. that explosion that he's referring to, we were here on the scene when it happened right around 5:00 this morning. orlando police have confirmed that that was a controlled explosion on their part, but for people who had been able to leave that club who were waiting to more word on the friends they left behind, that moment was terrifying to hear that explosion. and then just a few minutes after that here on the scene, we heard a bunch of stacotto pop which is we believe because gunfire. so even though able to escape, they were still out here, still hearing the active scene going on. very much worried about their friends inside. >> and i know you're at the hospital. as we learned when the number of

people went from 20tali fatalit to almost 50, there was almost an audible gasp. at this hour, have they removed all of the bodies from the night club? do we know that? >> reporter: we don't know. it's a very difficult task of identifying the dead. we do know part of the delay in that number, why it jumped so dramatically from 20 to 50 is there was a lot of concern that the suspect may have had explosive devices with him and they have to very carefully go through that night club and clear the night club. this of course being that the suspect was found with a suspicious device on his person. he entered the night club with a suspicious device on his person in addition to that assault rifle and handgun. and there was not only concern in the night club, but in the area, taking k-9s looking for

potential explosive devices. so that has led to the delay in recovery the bodies of those who died. and it led to that delay and that number and that jump from 20 to 50. >> sarah, thank you very much. and at the white house, the president has ordered the lowering of the flag you see it there. we just heard the first comments from president obama describing what happened. the massacre in orlando as an act of terror and act of hate. we're joined now by carlos rosario, he was at the club and witnessed the shooting. tell me what you saw this morning. >> well, thank you for having me on. last night, what i saw, first of all, most horrible things ich ever experien i've never experienced. i stepped extend my condolences everyone. it was a truly crazy night. i was getting my last drink by the outside bar on the patio.

i leaned over to give instructions to how i wanted my drink to the bartender and the shots just started coming. and it felt like it was never going to stop until when it did stop, my instinct was to get out. like get out as fast as i can. because this is a chance where nothing is being -- no bullets are being ricocheted everywhere, i'm just going to get out. and once i started running, he started going again. and honestly while i was outside, it felt like never ending shots. everyone asking why wouldn't it stop. and it was just a mohorrible scene. >> this started around 2:00 in the morning, away last call,

people had been there, a small space. describe to me again the area where you were and were you able to see where the shots were coming from? >> yeah, again, i was by the bar in the back in the patio. it's like outside of pulse. it's an extension where you can stand outside and be able to smoke a cigarette instead of smoking inside. so while i was standing there, i was very close to the entrance, but i did not see the shooter. i did not see any, you know, fire coming from a gun. i just know my instinct kicked this in because i felt like the shou sound getting louder and louder which means it's getting closer and closer. so me my number one goal was get out and make sure i'm safe, but then while i was out there, i saw the people that were injured and i felt so lucky that i was able to make it out with nothing, no scratches, that i

said you know, what i think it's time for me to give back and help these people. and i'm glad that i did. >> carlos, can you tell me about the injured that you saw? >> what kind of injuries did you witness? >> i've been a medical assistant if two years and i never got to see the raw side of what can lap and last night was definitely an eye opener. i witnessed a young male, around 24 years old, his name junior, an amazing guy, he actually got shot in his back. and literally hole was maybe the size of a quarter or even a little bit bigger of the gunshot wound. and i was with another person there and he took off his bandana, we had to literally pack his wound so he would stop bleeding because he was bleeding profusely. it was blood everywhere.

but i was very happy that we got the blood flow under control, we kept him conscious and asked him about his family and future goals. and it was great that i was able to give him my energy so that key contin he could continue sticking in for us. >> i've gone online to look at some of the interior shots before the massacre to get an idea of the size of this club. at least from the photographs, it seemed like a small space. would you say it was packed around that time when the shooting started? >> yes. i know that there are other nights where it's not as busy. latin night is always a very good night, we always have a very fun time with has continue night. but this time it was a little bit packed and i think maybe

that was why there were so many injuries. there was not enough space. everybody was jumping on each other trying to get out. but it did make it very hard to evacuate it a little bit. >> i've seen a report that at least the music was still going in the background and somehow someone managed to shut down the music so that people could hear and be directed in how to get out of there. were you still nearby when the firefight between the s.w.a.t. team and the suspect started? >> i did hear when the music turned off and i did hear various bystanders giving directions to certain people where to go. i actually made it out through the back, and it was just facing towards orange avenue. and i grabbed junior which was the person who was injured and we walked down to get away from that area because the police

were trying to clear that area out. unfortunately, i did not see the confrontation between the police and the shooter, but i did hear when it started. i was far away from it. but i did hear when it initiated. >> well, carlos, obviously our thoughts with you as well as understand at the beginning of this, you count yourself among the lucky as we know that 50, at least 50 family members are waiting to hear word and maybe even more if we go by what authorities have told us in a some of the 53 who were injured could be critically injured there, as well. thank you so much for your time and again, our thoughts are with you. this is an unimaginable day for this could you bntry, not just e inside this morning. joining me also is billy mains, editor of the orlando lgbt newspaper. thank you also for your time.

billy, are you there? >> yeah, i'm right here. thank you. >> i was on the official weapon sight for pulse and the headline from the owner says pulse, more than just another gay club. and the founders of the club were very proud of the fact that in addition to clearly being a fun place for people to go like last night, they were very responsible in the community and she opened the club in honor of her brother who had died of aids. so this as they say on their website was more than just a place to go and dwaance and hava drunk. >> they also september tnt the that that if you're at pulse, run, run, run, which is very emotional. it's been a very difficult time for us here in orlando as a guy community. or lgbt community. and to see the visceral nature of what went down, it's disturbing. i woke up to it.

and my husband, tony, said don't look at your phone. and i was like okay, i have to look at high phomight have phon. and it was 5:00 a.m. and there were hostages being held in the bathroom. so it's something we're not used to here this in orlando to be sure. but it's something that is very damaging to our community and i am disheartened. i'm overwhelmed. and i am inspired by the people that are making the noises that need to be made right now about this. >> billy, you mentioned being inspired. there have been just lines throughout orlando, people weights to waiting to donate blood. answering the calm for help. as you talk about those who are taking action, you herded president describe itfor help. as you talk about those who are

taking action, you herded president describe it as an acts of terror and an act of hate. and the individual responsible for this according to his father saw two men kissing in miami and his father believes at least this is part of what may have set him off. . your reaction. >> that's the fear that i have every time i walk outside my door. and i've learned up until now to disencagage that thought. but when i see something like 50 people being shot in cold blood, two blocks from my house, it changes my mind a little bit. i don't even know what to say about what happened. and if we want to talk about isis and terrorism, i don't even know if it plays into the game.

i feel like this is a hate crime personally. and i've spoken to several people. i was at the press conference this morning and i know what went down. but i don't know. i don't think we can sort of like broad sheet it that way. i think we have to understand that this is a guy bar where 50 people were killed. and they were 50 gay people. so it's very disturbing for me and i'm still as editor of a newspaper trying to process exactly how we deal with it, you know. >> part of the discussion if in fact individual's words that he was inspired by isis, if again there is proof and this was not something he uttered so that we could report after it all plays out, but what we do know is that

isis has carried out heinous acts against gays throughout the world. >> right. >> so it would not be far fetched to believe that someone would use an ideology, a religion to justify their hate toward gays. it's happening and we've seen that carried out. >> i understand that completely and i understand the broadness of all of that. and there are -- i don't want to say religious distinctions, but, you know, cultural distinctions. but what i think what happened here was specific to a person who came here and did something horrible and following some be who came here specifically horrible a few days ago killing singer on "the voice." obviously this is a larger thing. i have been reaching out to members of my community, my

newspaper staff, we've been trying to figure out exactly how it is we're going to deal with this. but this is huge. i mean, 50 people at the least are dead from our community. i don't even know if my friends are alive. and that's very difficult for me. my parents called me this morning. and they were asking if i was alive. and then i was at the press conference and then somebody drove by and asked me if her brother was alive. and so, i mean, we have a lot of other things to deal with than international politics on this right now. p it's very personal. and it's heartbreaking. >> to your point, there are different communities celebrating pride parades and i just overheard a conversation a few minutes ago from a leader within the lgbt community who said that people often believe because of marriage equality, because of some of the victories, whether they are, you

know, a ceo coming out or member of the military coming out and being a first in his or her category to represent the lgbt community, that these victories in no way should remove our eyes from the hate that still permeates through the hearts of some and they are willing to carry out these acts. >> no and i also think that we have to exami in gun laws. i lost a former spouts to suicide and he shot himself in fronts of me. and i made a huge thing about that because i thought it was important for people to know. so i defeel like violence and t lgbt community aren't necessarilily separate. we have to discuss what is going on here. we're not 1sitting ducks, you know. hopefully -- i can't even say hopefully on a day like this.

but, you know, in future i would hope that we would have discussions about these things. i don't know why this person went into a guy bar. i don't know why he went into that gay bar and shot everyone in a front door and then made his way through. i've spoken to the owner of the bar who is a friend of mine and it's terrifying. so, you know, all i can -- >> billy, i'm sorry to interrupt, but you mentioned you spoke to theer of the bar. had they received any threats, anything leading up to it? >> no, nothing. they were just crying. no, nobody heard anything about this. as far as i know, this was not an orchestrated effort that would have been put on a bar

manager's or bar owner's table. it's just something that happens when someone wants to be a really bad person and make a name for themselves. >> billy, thank you so much. i know you're waiting to hear word on some of your friends. it's just unimaginable tin that situation. today this country as the president said, we're together in this, we're americans and this is an act against, yes, the individuals in that bar, but it's an act against this country. >> what we have, though, is we have a backlash to our freedoms now. and this is what we're dealing with. and that's what i see this as. and i'm not conspiracy theorist. but that's what i see this as. so i'm going to be diligent as will everybody who works for me in pointing out where the inaccuracies and the fallacies are. and maybe try and make a difference and make it better. so we can't replace these 50

lives. 50 lives wree're talking about. the largest massacre in america. all i can do is what i can do, you know. so i'm going to try. >> billy mains, thank you very much. >> thank you. i want to now take to you what we've just received into our newsroom, this is cellphone video of some of the incident, some of the shooting captured on a cellphone. he'll be honest, i've not seen this. this just came in. we'll play it right now. >> oh, my god. people are getting shot, dude. >> we need to get out of here about that. >> oh, my god, dude. people are getting shot, dude. >> we need to get out of here. >> you hear the gunfire. and even the reaction from these individuals who are not very far. they're at a parking lot, like a

7-eleven there behind this vehicle. let's me bring in sean henry, former executive assistant director of the fbi current chief security officer. again, you hear what we've described so many times as -- sound like a cannon. we don't know if that was the return fire from the s.w.a.t. team. but you hear the gunshots ringing in that cellphone video. >> yeah, that's right, tamron. those weapons are military style assault weapons. when you take about the ar-15, the sound is deafening. if you are near it without ear protection, you can go deaf quite honestly. it has high capacity, high speed, and that weapon is made for multiple casualties. this is a devastating incident and a lot of people lost their lives here sadly. >> absolutely. let's talk about here you are a

member of the police department there, the call comes in, this starts around 2:00 a.m. and they are going into a dark night club, maybe some of the lights are on, maybe not. we're waiting to get more details from the witnesses who are still in a great shock, but it's a packed environment. how do you as a law enforcement go into this and try to protect those and even save those from what might be an exchange of the gun battle there? >> this is a tactical situation. and i've trained on the s.w.a.t. team when i was in the fbi and worked very closely with hostage rescue team, state and local law enforcement tactical response agencies. there are multiple ways you respond. in an incident like this, this is a dynamic assault. you have an active shooter, somebody who has already killed people. there are more lives in jeopardy. every second counts.

those officers want to get into the environment, they recognize that it will be low lighting conditions. very difficult to ascertain who the actual threat is in a place where you can imagine hundreds of people. the music is disorienting if that is still going on. but these officers are trained to go to the shooter. and they are running into the battle and their job is to neutralize that threat. and in a dynamic assault, it's the most important spepiece. seed sf the essence. these officers train for this. unfortunately, active shooter is not an unusual thing. law enforcementment constantly training for this type of an incident. >> man knany oig go meez is joining me. when we get on the plane, we're reminded here is the safe way to get out this, is part of our

culture. when you go thinto a night club for many people, we've all been there, the last thing you're thinking is where is the exit. >> absolutely. people are going there to have a good time, it perhaps have a cocktail, meet friends, dance, enjoy themselves. they're not thinking that they will get shot that night, that there will be an active shooter situation. they're not looking at where the exits are. there is no plan in place. if there is an active shooter situation. so these people had no plan, no idea that this was going to happen and what to do if it happened. >> so in the sick way that they know that this was carried out, at least for some minutes there the advantage was this individual who has an ar-15 and people there completely stunned. >> absolutely. this murderer went in there with

a plan. the plan was to kill as many people as possible. the people in there, the victims, had no idea that this enonslaught was coming in their direction and they clearly did not even have an idea while this was going on. so before these people realized that there was active gunfire going organizatin, dozens were already shot or killed. >> we heard from one of the witness and survivors talked about he was in a patio area and i think when you look at the photo here, you see that the blacktop, an extension appears of the outdoor area. this is orlando. a lot of the clubs you see the bar there have this kind ever extension there. so if you're at the back and most of the sooting inshooting happening -- you have no idea do i leap over this fence behind me, curiosity in soome strange

way or the desire to help perhaps makes you want to go through the door and see what goes on. and we've heard people running in and staying in trying to save their friend. >> we heard from the individual just before that he apparently did something to help other people there that had been shot. but at the same time, these people didn't know. there is music, gunfire, people running in all directions and nobody really knows where the gunfire is coming from. so it's the worst possible scenario in a very difficult environment to deal with to escape. >> let me bring sean in. i've just received new information here. this is there an isis affiliated media unit. and it reads, the attack that targeted a night club for homosexuals homosexua homosexuals orlando florida was carried out by an islamic state fighter. at this hour, we're not received any verification that this

individual traveled to syria, that he received training abroad. we're still working to get more details on his back ground. we know he was born in new york, moved to port st. lucie, florida. the "washington post" is reporting that his ex-wife said he was not religious. and that he beat her. she described him as unstable. and described the situation where her family had to go in and without himming inbeing awae her from him, leaving all her alo belonging behind. but the ex-wife said he was not religious and now an affiliate of isis saying he was an islamic state fighter. >> we all heard the president speak and he came out and said this was terrorism. we're talking 12 or 14 hours after the incident. if you remember san bernardino which ultimately was determined to be a terrorist act, it took a

few days because investigators were doing a rigorous investigation. but for the president to say what he said today as strongly as he did indicates to me that there is a lot more information that the intelligence community may have about this man and what he may have done. whether it be intercepted communications, other co-conspirators or some other intelligence that may have been collected. that's what it indicates to me. but in this particular case, whether this person was directed by isis specifically, meaning he had legitimate contact, he swore his allegiance to al baghdadi according to the 911 tapes, was he directed by isis or isis-inspired. ea isis absolutely wants to take credit for this. they will use the tape to disflight the situation. they will blast it throughout social media and claim credit.

whether he's directed or just merely inspired, doesn't bring back the lives of these 50 people. but from an investigative perspective, it will help investigators as they continue through in very long thorough process. >> sean, if you can stand by. pete williams, let's talk about what we do know. what you've reported earlier regarding what contact this individual had with authorities in an earlier investigation. remind us of those details, please. >> right. so on the isis thing, officials we've talked to say they at this point have not found any evidence of any direct communication between omar mateen the man responsible for the shootings and anyone in isis. so it may be a matter of simply of the propagandists at isis who are constantly following the news media, this man's name has been widely reported. the fact that he expressed support for al baghdadi, they

would undoubtedly be a waiver. and what is interesting is only after that 1911 call was reported,waiver. and what is interesting is only after that 911 call was reported, and widely disseminateded, did they make this claim that he's an isis fighter. it seems very after the fact to me. and as i say no officials have confirmed take he had any direct contact with people in isis. >> if you could hang on for a second because these are new images of the suspect. omar mateen. as mentioned, he is from new york. you see there with his nypd shirt on. these are other photos of him. his dress very -- why like to use the term western, but traditional outfit or t shirts you see on anyone. very different from the picture we were showing earlier. pete, go ahead. >> in terms of the 911 call,

we're told he not onlie express superintendent support for al-baghdaa al-baghdadi, but also talked about the boston marathon bombing and the tsarnaev brothers responsible for those bombings. that's all in the 911 call we've been told by authorities. so what exactly connection he had to isis, we don't think he at least what we're told is they don't believe that he had any direct connection that this is more someone who is consuming isis propaganda. but even before the sort of advent of the massi amounts of isis propaganda pouring into western countries including the u.s. and at least three or four years ago the fbi said he was espousing spouting off about radical jihad, they looked at him briefly and decided that there was nothing there to merit any further investigation, that it was just somebody popping

off. so he mhe had expressed an inte in this ideology at least three or four years ago. >> we know some of the earlier reporting that he worked as a security guard. we don't know the answer to the timing. if he was as the fbi called it popping off as a security worker who i would assume would go through some type of investigation or background check. he has the class g fire arms license. we don't know if the weapons -- we don't know how he acquired. let me go to senator bill nelson, he's talking right now. let's listen in. >> i'm senator nelson. the senior senator, our junior senator, senator rubio, is on the way from miami. what i wanted to alert you to is that shortly you will get an fbi

update. they are clearing that with headquarters. you might want to know that the islamic state's news agency has just issued a statement that says that they are responsible. that has not been confirmed. it's coming over the wires right now. we will find out more and more as the fbi gives you their analysis. there are several fbi agents in st. lucie county now. they have asked as i said earlier in an appeal to people to anybody in the community that knows the shooter for them to please come forward so that we can piece this together. if it turns out that he's a lone wolf, as you know, it is very difficult to stop a lone wolf

because it's hard to get the information ahead of time. but in this case, if we're getting those kind of statements from the news agency of islamic state, we'll have to see what those connections are once we get the details. so i wanted to bring you up-to-date. i told you that i would keep you informed as soon as i spoke this morning. momentarily the fbi will be here to give you an up-to-date. >> senator, have you heard if the situation in california is connected? >> senator nil nelson briefly talking with reporters about some of the details that are floating around. we will get confirmation, but i think the headline is that as he stated the fbi will be updating the public any minute now. we're waiting for it not only the fbi but local authorities, as well. we were expecting an update about at the half hour mark. we have not received that. but we know that should be

happening. so stay tuned for the latest information. >> peete, going back to whether he purchased the guns legally and having a job as a security guard that would allow him to carry legally, obviously one of those questions out there now. >> right. and no crime in saying that you support radical islam about. so that is protected expression under the first amendment and that's the difficult for the fbi, trying to decide how intensively to keep an eye on the thousands of people who say that on the internet every day. that would not the disqualify him from owning a firearm. whether that information was ever passed to the place where he was a security guard, i don't know. i would doubt it, but i don't know because it's not a crime.

and the mere fact that someone's expressing that, yeah, you might well say that if he was a curity guard walking away with a weapon, somebody should have known that. i think that is something that we will have to find out. >> and sean, as pete discussed, yes, you have protections, freedom of speech. but you're look at an individual whatever comments me, it warranted at the least even if it's low level questions, it warranted some reaction and as pete mentioned, countless people online saying or espousing all types of hateful receipt tore rec wheth rhetoric. but this guy was singled out and he may be one of thousands, but he was singled out. >> that's the biggest challenge for law enforcement. it literally is nows of people.

>> senator marco rubio is speaking. let's listen in. >> first of all, obviously a terrible tragedy, but the world is seeing this community respond in extra ordinary ways. there are more people than there are the ability to process the blood and that's fantastic. obviously the community coming together. as americans we're heartbroken. as i've told all the law enforcement here already, this could happen anywhere in the world. unfortunately today it was orlando's turn. in a few moments the fbi will fill us in in on more details. so we'll get more of a sense of what we know. but we no that there is hate in the world. we know some of it is inspired by warned ideology.no that ther the world. we know some of it is inspired by warned ideology. we know they seek to intimidate us, to terrorize us. i hope that they see they won't terrorize america, that we stand for and with all americans

irrespective of their sexual orientation, irrespective of their party iideology. we're all americans. you're seeings response today. and this will continue. this will make us stronger. they will not win. islamic terrorists need to know that they will not win. that america will stand strong and together and despite whatever differences we might have when we debate in an open society, we are all americans and we stand here together united confronting this threat that is a scourge through the world. >> senator marco rubio there with senator bill nelson. sean, let me bring you back in on this. particularly after senator ru o rubio's comments about islamic trimp a terrorism and the inspiration which we don't have solid confirmation of what inspired this person, but just going back to the photos that we showed a second ago, clearly the nypd

says he was never linked to them, but he has the t-shirt on that anyone can purchase. he is from new york. he is american. however, the very first photos that were released of him showed him in a more traditional gash oig. i made the comments earlier to make the point where it's the san bernardino individuals, part of this is how if they are inspired by isis or their religion, how much of it is fueled by that or is this an unstable person as his ex-wife pointed out and suddenly now he's gone from being this everyday american guy to wrapping himself behind hateful rhetoric to mask what essentially is an unstable individual. >> yeah, that's what the investigation is going to uncover in the course of the next few days and weeks. you heard his father say he saw two men kissing and he was

offended by it. you heard his ex-wife say that he had violence tendencies and was mentally unstable. and you hear him swearing allegiance to al baghdadi. we know through public source information about isis condemning homosexuality. they have been violence against those that they have discovered that are were homosexual in the middle east, throwing people off of building, shooting them in the head, stoning them. there has been numerous media reports about that in the past few months. so it does not away in a 50 people are dead regardless of what the motive is. but from a law enforcement perspective, it's important to understand because that type of intelligence can help prevent other types of attacks. senator rubio talks about the diverse america that we all live in. people come in all shapes, sizes and colors. different religions, either the. we are all americans. and we have to look at thethe. we are all americans. and we have to look at the bad

activity and not the people who they are, but the actual types of activities that height indica might indicate that they would take this type of action. >> and to learn more about the true motivation. is it inspired by something he's read online and contrast that to this every day by who lived his life -- and we don't know if this is true -- suddenly a radicalized individual. but kelly o'donnell is in washington with more reaction from the presidential candidates as well as members of congress. >> reporter: we've heard from hillary clinton and bernie sanders who both just released statements. and in part we also will heard there gabby giffords who everyone recalls was shot and still recovering from her injuries at that mooass shootin several years back in tucson.

hillary clinton said she tracked very closely with what the president said talking about the fact that this is an act of terror and also an act of hate. and she talks about the fact that the country must also address the gun issue. so really on three different topics, she was able to bring together those tomorrows. and she is clearly working off the same information as the president. declaring this an acts act of terror. is he shenando she says this was an act terror. we will learn more in the hours and days ahead. for thousand now we know we need to double our efforts. later she says the gunman the attacked an lgbt night club during pride month. to the lug xhgbt community, ple know nauf millions of ally, i al one of them.

and bernie sanders actually takes a slightly different approach. addressing both the hate crime aspect as well as the terrorism aspect. but saying that he's not yet certain that that motivation has been determined, a more cautious comment starting off of course there will be more investigation before that is fullien stooy eu. but the note really comes to this, and i will read a bit, all americans are horrified, disgusted and saddened by the are horrific atrocity in orlando. at this point we do not know whether this was an acts of terrorism, terrible hate crime against gay people or the act of a very sick person, but we extend our heartfelt condolences to the victims' families and loved ones and our thoughts are also with the injured and entire orlando lgbt community. so from hillary clinton and bernie sanders, sanders of course politically was meeting with top allies today to talk about the future of his campaign and is supposed to have a

personal meeting with hillary clinton on tuesday. and of course from gabby giffords and the work she's been doing, she talks about this issue, as well. sad and dark day for this country we love. we want to say this tragedy is unthinkable, but it is not. once again a mass shooting has torn a community apart, our country is in the grip of a gun violence crisis. it claimed at least 50 lives early this morning. it claimed 33,000 lives last year. so gabby giffords and her husband mark kelly trying to find what they call responsible solutions to the gun crisis. political politically i've seen statements from a number of members of congress who also say when the smomt right after the initial information is learned, grieving takes place, does it bring about how it deal with issues represented to guns, specifically assault weapon, the availability of guns to those who might have mental illness,

some of those core yeses that the political community has wrestled with. that will be a part of this presidential debate. and is there any kind of legislative solution that can take place. p very different feelings in this country about that. earlier we heard from donald trump via tweet. we have not yet seen a more formal style statement from him. he of course talked about saying that he was appreciating the congratulations shown to him for calling it radical islamic terrorism and acknowledging the victims. so just a few tweets from donald trump, more formal statements from hillary clinton and bernie sanders. both of them waiting until after president obama addressed the nation. >> you mentioned the donald trump tweet. and it's drawn a lot of reaction. it says appreciate the congrats for being right about radical

islam terrorism. i don't want congrats. i want toughness and vigilance. we must be smart. and that has now if you go on social media reaction from both sides of people some offended by it, some per flexed as to why he would send out this note -- >> it suggests he was almost reading tweets from supporters who were saying that they liked the approach that he was offering. the normal kind of twitter conversation which on a lot of other subjects might seem proent r appropriate seems a little less comfortable for many people given the magnitude and gravity of this situation. so we a wait a formal statement from donald trump. so far twitter has been his mode of choice.wait a formal stateme from donald trump.

so far twitter has been his mode of choice. >> all right. brian, let me get your reaction to what we've heard so far. >> certainly it's a gun issue, but it's also a radicalization issue. and what we know about isis is they look for criminals. they look for the mentally unstable. they look for the violent folks. but let's not white wash the radicalism of this. by the same token, let's not indict all the law abiding muslims here in the united states. i just got e-mailed a statement from a major muslim group here condemning the attack and like our center we stand in solidarity with the lgbt community. but let's me just say this is both an a little of terrorism and hate crime. why? because terrorism is using force, violence or intimidation to intimidate a population or subgroup for social or political goals. so irrespective of whether he got from isis or somewhere else,

that is terrorism. hate crime is a crime where a target is selected because of the actual or perceived group status of another. this is the worst hate attack in modern times. also the worst mass shooting and one of the worst terrorist attacks here in the united states. but the techidesignation of term event brings in the fbi and they will lead the investigation as well as state and regional authorities. >> and let me update our audience as to what we know now picking up on what brian noted. president obama indicated the fbi will lead the investigation into what the president referred to as an agent of terror and act of hate. what we know at this hour, 00 50 people confirmed dead as a result of the orlando massacre inside