Lamentations loud
amid the tears
following Orlando.
Another call to take
guns from people
who kill deer but
who will take
guns from people
who kill people?
That’s the question
without an answer
as bullets rip the air.
On June 12, 2016, a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 others inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Shortly before closing time, the gunman entered with a SIG Sauer MCX semi-automatic rifle and a 9mm Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol after engaging a police officer performing security duty at the club. Shortly after the shooting began, two more officers arrived as backup and were eventually joined by about a hundred others. The killer fired 202 rounds inside the club but retreated further into the club and began taking hostages. The gunman was killed by Orlando police who drove an armored vehicle through a wall after a three-hour standoff. Ninety per cent of the victims were of Hispanic descent, mainly from Puerto Rico, which is an American territory. It was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in US history. The assailant was an Afghan-American born in the US. Witnesses said he was a regular patron of the nightclub and had feequented gay dating websites, though he had also expressed hostility towards the LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender) community and other minorities. Since 2007, he had been a security guard for G4S Secure Solutions and had a valid firearms license.
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