Of living through this latest act of Mass Violence on american soil. Tonight a country in mourning and searching for answers. Nightly news begins now. Terror in orlando. This is nbc nightly news with lester holt, reporting tonight from orlando. Good evening. Our collective sense of security was shattered again today by terror. This time inside an orlando nightclub. 50 people are dead, so many that authorities are resorting to posting their names on a website, a site still overwhelmed tonight as people try to account for friends and loved ones. The shooting massacre inside the Pulse Night Club popular in the gay community, ranks as the single deadliest shooting attack in american history. More than 50 others were wounded. Nbc news has learned that the killer omar mateen had previously been investiga b his allegiance to the leader of the isis before launching his attack. Some victims were cut down as they stood or others hid or escaped tohe tou crtyard and still others are waiting with the dramatic rescue by the s. W. A. T. Teams. President obama called it an act of terror and hate. Lets start with the hours of terror and nbcs gabe gutierrez. Lester, it started as a saturday night celebration and turned into the horrifying act of terror. Bystanders and First Responders rushed to help before 11 officers rushed in and took down the gunman. Oh, my god. People are getting shot, dude get out of here. Oh, my god dude firing off shoots. Reporter at 2 02 gun fire tears through the going to die. I didnt know if id come out alive. Reporter at 2 09, the club posted a chilling message, everyone get out of pulse and keep running. A officer confronts the shooter, identified as omar mateen, who took hostages in the club. A witness texted his mother that hes taking cover in the restroom but fears that the gunman will come inside. And then bomb squads and hazmats are called to the scene. I have ballistic vests for anyone. Reporter hostage negotiators tried to make contact. We have one responding units on the scene. Reporter for the next three hours frantic confusion. This woman desperately waits to hear from her son. On at the hospital. Reporter so many injured First Responders run out of ambulance, forced to transport them in Police Pickup trucks and Christopher Hanson in the middle of the carnage. Everyone was dance, drinking and then you hear just bang, bang, bang. And its continus. At first it sounded like it was the music. Then after the you just i looked over and i saw bodies falling, people screaming. Reporter police used a debt nation to distract him. A rescue team killed the gunman in a fire fight. One officer injured. Shot in the head. But saved by his kevlar helmet. The scale of the horrifying scene growing by the minute. Per staging, we have now a large unit. Reporter initial reports say 20 people are killed by by midmorning this stunning announcement. We have cleared the building, and i share we have not 20 but 50 casualties. Reporter he they were beautiful people. And they didnt deserve that. Reporter and what the mayor of orlando is calhe citys darkest day. This is still an active scene and authorities have just finished processing this for explosives and the governor has declare state of emergency and now the fbi is heading up the investigation. A lot of sadness in this city. Very very much. Were learning more about omar mateens past. The fbi had talked to him in the past few years but the case wweas cased. Pete williams has been in touch with investigators all day long. What are you hearing . Reporter well, lester investigators say tonight that the two guns in fact are the weapons that he had with him when he walked into the nightclub and opened fire. They say that though he twice came to the fbis attention, there was nothing to suggest that he was somebody who should have been watched more closely. Fbi agents descended on omar mateens home in 120 miles from orlando, looking for anything that would show why he carried out his deadly attacks. Investigators say just before the shooting he called 911 and pledged allegiance to isis. And mentioned the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and the two brothers who carried it out. His father said that something he had seen in miami may have led to the shooting. He saw two men kissing each other around he got very angry. Omar was upset. Maybe thats why he went after the gay club. His father Seddique Mateen said they apologize. He has spoken out in the past on youtube in support of the taliban and also says that the u. S. Is a friend of his. And his exwife says she divorced him because he became violent describing him as mentally unstable. The fbi says it first became aware of him four years ago after he made comments to coworkers expressing support for violent extremism. The fbi thoroughly investigated the matter including interviewed the witnesses and records checks and in the course of the investigation, mateen was interviewed twice. Ultimately we were unable to verify the substance of his comments and the investigation was closed. Reporter a year later the fbi questioned him again about contacts with another ft. Pierce man, moner abu salha. Their contact was minimal. The fbi said he did nothing to suggest was preparing for a terror attack. He bought the guns used in the shooter and an ar rifle like this. Mateen had high capacity magazines for the weapon. Officials say he was working as a licensed Security Guard that required him to demonstrate a proficiency with despite early claims that he was carrying a bomb, no explosives have been found. Lester . Pete, a lot of questions still and in the hours as you know after the rampage, investigators descended on his neighborhood. It was about two hours from here in ft. Pierce, florida. Thats where we find stephanie gosk. Stephanie . Reporter lester, Law Enforcement showed up here at the crack of dawn and immediately began the evacuations. We are told roughly a dozen families were moved out of this complex. The Sheriffs Department is here, a bomb squad, the fbi as well. Leading this search into omar mateens home here. We know from his father that he had a wife and a 3yearold boy. We know that he worked for a Security Firm and neighbors here tell us that he was a guard at a local gated community and a wealthy neighborhood with a golf course. That he stood at that guard post and checked ids as people went in and out. One woman who lives here works in that complex. Her id every single day. When she saw his photo on the news this morning it sent a shiver down her spine. Wi lester . Thank you. Family and friends are hoping against hope as they scour the list of the dead and the injured which numbers over 100. Many of the stories slowly being reveal and Janet Shamlian has been following that for us today. Oh, my god reporter the number is unimaginable. 50 dead and the injured are 53. Some critically. Tonight the mom of felipe tommy herera who went there for his birthday. Doesnt know which list he is on. I cant find him. So please keep up keep him in your prayers. Hopefully this man is stopped. Reporter victims rushed to the Trauma Center a half mile away. It was an onslaught, doctor morning operating on a number of victims. We continue to operate on them. Reporter outside the hospital for some families, a different type of terror. No word on their loved ones. Sergio is looking for his best friend, her brother in law. What is his condition . We dont know. We havent heard his name called. Unidentified right now. Reporter many of the families are staged here at a hotel just a couple hundred yards from the hospital. For all of them, its an agonizing wait for word on their loved one. Tonight the city of orlando is posting the names of those who lost their lives after family has been notified. At this hour, a short list. It will grow to an unspeakable number. Gene abraham doesnt need to wait. He knows his former boyfriend chris gone. What was chris like personally . He was really happy, he always liked to people laugh. Reporter what is certainly orlandos darkest day has brought out the best. Lines at the Blood Donation centers went for blocks and a gofundme page for the victims was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. You will not break us. We are better people than this. Reporter a horrific number of victims and yet so many families doing what they must holding on to hope. Just moments ago this photo of one of the victims Eddie Sotomayor on his facebook page. His friends remembering him as a caring and energetic man. Here at the Orlando Regional Medical Center every available resource, doctors, nurses, staff are working around the clock. 50 surgeries in the past 14 hours. A few people have been discharged. Dozens are still here. And a few, lester are fighting for their lives. Back to you. All right. Janet shamlian, thank you very much. If you look down the street over my Left Shoulder you can see the Pulse Night Club. Its about a block even as survivors tell their stories, it is with a twinge of disbelief. Many are frankly finding it hard to imagine that what they went through. What they experienced was real. A short time ago i met up with joshua mcgill, a young Nursing Student who was in the club with his roommates when the shots rang out. He described the escape and how he brought a wounded stranger to safety. We heard three loud bangs. At first a natural like duck, because we werent sure what it was. It could have been the music. Could have been like a speaker blowing. So but it alarmed you . Yeah. It was kind of like whoa. Someone next to my roommate actually pulled her down to the ground and was like, thats not the music. Thats not anything theres someone shooting. I didnt comprehend it at this time. I mean, they pulled me down. When you say pulled you down, were you on the ground . Yeah. Pretty much army style. So then when we possible gunshot, we crawled out the door to the patio which is like right next to us. Was the gunfire becoming steady or sporadic . It was the first three and then two and then this at this point, its like every like boom boom boom. Were people screaming . Screaming, running, laying on the ground, taking cover, jumping the fence. You were fortunate enough to be close to the court yard exit . Oh, definitely. Once we got over the fence, we said to start running. They started running and i duck and hid behind the car. Thats when i noticed rodney the guy that i helped, he was kind of you know, walking in like a zombieish way. But he seemed injured. I immediately saw that he was covered in blood, all over. Youre trying to stop the bleeding the best you can with your shirt and his shirt . Yes. The arms werent anymore, but the one on the back was. Because i held that with my hand, and we were trying to walk to the subway area where the police had set up the perimeter. Did you pray out loud . I did. Do you remember what you said . I said, please lord, dont let him die. I told him hell be fine. And that was joshua mcgill, our conversation. The young man he helped he later found out his name was rodney and found out that is going to be okay. Hes still hospitalized and being treated for his wounds. He also described the two of them praying in the back of that police car. As they were rushed to the hospital. Well take a break. When we come back, the aftershocks of the massacre in orlando. 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Both presumptive nominees took to twitter to convey their condolences and in trumps case, to criticize the Obama Administration and reiterate his controversial ban on muslims. Kelly odonnell is covering the reaction. Reporter a National Crisis that unfolded in orlando. But careened right into our heated national politics. Twitter, a first point of contact. Donald trump began matter of factually. Really bad shooting in orlando. Hillary clinton woke up to hear the devastating news from florida. Yes, prayers offered an concerns sent, but the tone turned more partisan. Trump claimed credit. Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical islamic terrorism. I dont want congrats, i want toughness. A theme he talked about in pittsburgh yesterday. We have to be vigilant and smart and we have to be tough and cunning and we cant let this crap happen. Reporter trump defied customary restraint and criticized the president. Is president obama going to finally mention the words radical islamic terrorism . If he doesnt he his own words carefully using terror, hate and guns. An issue driving Hillary Clintons campaign. I will take on the gun lobby to try to achieve common sense gun safety reforms. The losses associated with gun violence are just unimaginable. Reporter clintons formal written statement expressed sol dahlty. To the lgbt community, you have my condolences. Today, trump issued a lengthy statement that hits both obama and clinton as weak on admitting migrants from the middle east. Hundreds trump said implicated in terrorism in the united states. And back on twitter, trump renewed his controversial call for a ban on muslim immigrants saying they cannot be adequately screened. Both trump and clinton plan to deliver speeches tomorrow that will address the orlandag but the president and clinton have postponed their First Joint Campaign appearance that would have happened this week. Lester . Kelly odonnell in washington, thank you. When we return, a tense moment in los angeles. And the outpouring of emotional tributes across the country for those killed in the orlando massacre. I use whats already inside me to reach my goals. So i liked when my doctor told me that i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating whats within me with onceweekly trulicity. Trulicity is not insulin. It helps activate my body to do what its supposed to do release its own insulin. Trulicity responds when my blood sugar rises. I take it once a week, and it works 24 7. It comes in an easytouse pen and i may even lose a little weight. To improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. It should be used along with diet and exercise. Trulicity is not recommended as the first medicine to treat diabetes and should not be used by people with severe stomach or intestinal problems or people with type i diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. 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We have to come out and really support and be there for one another on a day like this. Reporter while a brief scare in santa monica put police on high alert. Authorities stopped a man with weapons in his car and out of state plates who said he was in town for the pride parade. At this point theres no known credible threat here in the Los Angeles Area and certainly no connection to anything thats happened in orlando. Reporter but tonight, leaders of all faiths say it is not a time for threats and fear. Jewish, christian, muslim, hindu, whatever faith you follow, please pray for the victims and their families. Reporter in San Franciscos castro district, a place where people pay [000 24 58;00] every day. Were not going to hide, were not going nob the shadows. You know people have sacrificed so much for so long for gay people to live openly and be who they are. Were not going back to that. Reporter a new memorial for 50 more lives, taken in an act of hate. 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Mass shootings with no apparent end in sight. Heres harry smith. Reporter a sunday morning was shaken by news that has become all too familiar. Today, it was orlando. But said president obama this could have been any one of our communities. Reporter as it has been so many times before. San bernardino, california, last december. 14 killed in a terrorist attack. Charleston, south carolina, last june. Nine killed at the mother emanuel church. Newtown, connecticut, 27 killed at sandy hook elementary. Most first graders. Blacksburg, virginia, 32 gunned downn tech. Just some of the attacks america has endured. The president said america has a choice. We have to decide if thats the kind of country we want to be. If we do nothing is a decision as well. Reporter today in orlando violence has left at least 50 more families in mourning. In the coming hours and days well learn about the victims of this tragedy. Their names, their faces, who they were. The joy that they brought to families and to friends. And the difference that they made in this world. Reporter this evening some families are clinging to hope that their loved ones will be okay. The families who are learning that their loved ones have been killed are crippled by grief. Lives forever shattered by one man. His hate and his guns. We have been here too many times before. And with no sign that anything will change, we fear this will not be the last. Harry smith, nbc news, orlando. Thatll do it for. Today marks the most deadly shooting in american history. This was an act of terror and an act of hate. My son was in the club when his boyfriend ron got shot multiple times. People on the ground bleeding, people screaming. I could just smell the ammo in the air. I was like this is a gun, this isnt fireworks, we need to leave. The suspects name is omar mateen, he lives in port st. Lucie. Something really horrible