FBI at Woodland Condos in Fort Pierce at last known address of a suspect in the Orlando night club shooting. (MOLLY BARTELS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

By Elliott Jones of TCPalm

BREAKING NEWS

12:16 p.m.: Officials are checking the home of Omar Mateen for explosives before entering the residence, said St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara. Mateen has been confirmed as the shooter in the Orlando mass killings, Mascara said. 

EARLIER STORY

FORT PIERCE — Federal, state and local law enforcement are at two homes on the Treasure Coast connected to the assailant in the Orlando mass shooting early Sunday at a nightclub.

They are at a home in the 2500 block of South 17th Street, Fort Pierce, said police spokesman Ed Cunningham. The home is registered to a Omar Mateen.

The FBI and Port St. Lucie Police also are at a home 500 block of Southwest Bayshore Boulevard in Port St. Lucie.

The agencies at the apartment complex include the FBI, the Florida Division of Law Enforcement, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office and Fort Pierce Police Department, Cunningham said.

The Orlando shooting is described as being the worst mass shooting in United States history. So far, 50 have been confirmed dead and 53 are hospitalized, Orlando officials said in a press conference. Many of the victims remain inside the nightclub, officials said. Police said the weapons used in the shooting, include a handgun and AR-15 assault rifle.

The Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared an state of emergency to allow all resources to be made available.

“We call upon clergy to pray for those families, this community and the nation for healing,” said Orange County Sheriff Jennings.

“Tonight, our community witnessed or experienced a very horrific crime,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said at a press conference in Orlando. “Many lives were lost, and many more individuals were impacted by witnessing the crime.”

Also at the press conference was Imam Muhammad Mursi, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida. He called on the public to not to rush to judgement. “No one could have predicted this,” he said. “It is a horrible tragedy. We are sad.”

MORE COVERAGE OF ORLANDO MASS SHOOTING

• 50 dead in Florida nightclub shooting, worst in US  
• Brutal rampages in U.S. history
• Orlando nightclub shooting: What we know
• Pulse more than 'just another gay club'
• Everyone was 'dropping and screaming': Witnesses describe chaos in Orlando shooting
• Who is Omar Mateen?
• Orlando shooting suspect married, divorced within 2 years
• Officials: Orlando suspect a U.S. citizen, probe underway for terror ties

A Twitter List by DaciaLJohnson

About Elliott Jones

Elliott Jones is a multimedia journalist for Treasure Coast Newspapers and TCPalm.com.

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• elliott.jones@tcpalm.com
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