Orlando gunman's last stand revealed by police

Orlando Police have revealed how Omar Mateen, the Florida gunman who killed 50 people in a shooting spree inside a gay nightclub, was finally killed as police officers cornered him and then gunned him down as he was trying to flee from a bathroom at the Pulse club.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, police said an officer who was present inside the club started shooting back when the Afghan-origin Mateen, 29, opened fire around 2 a.m., the Mirror reported.

More officers arrived and drove the killer into the bathroom where he had hostages.

The police believed he was about to explode a suicide vest. It tried to blow a hole through the wall.

They used a Bearcat armoured vehicle to crash into his hideaway.

Mateen then clambered out through the hole and was gunned down by the police.

Orlando police tweeted to clarify the shooter had acted alone, and was killed.

The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The armed attack that targeted a gay night club in Orlando which left over 100 people dead or injured was carried out by an Islamic State fighter," Amaq News Agency reported.

"One of the Caliphate's soldiers in America carried out a security invasion where he was able to enter a crusader gathering at a nightclub for homosexuals in Orlando," the group said in a broadcast on its Albayan Radio.

About 350 people were attending a Latin music event at Pulse, a well-known gay nightspot in the city, where survivors described scenes of carnage and pandemonium as the shooter took hostages inside a bathroom.

--IANS

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