“I had to run inside the store, and I saw just a lot of people screaming, crying. “It was something that I never heard before,” Jose Torres, who works across the street, told CNN. Witnesses at the scene described chaos as SWAT teams arrived and people fled bleeding from the downtown Orlando club. Nine officers confronted the gunman, who was shot and killed. “That turned into a hostage situation,” the police chief said.Īt 5 A.M., with more officers at the scene and an armored vehicle at the ready, police decided to mount a rescue operation, breaking down the door and detonating two explosives to distract the shooter. The two exchanged gunfire outside the club, and the suspect ran inside. According to police, an officer responded to reports of a shooting around 2 A.M. Hundreds of people were reportedly in the club when the gunman arrived. Pulse, which calls itself “Orlando’s Latin Hotspot,” hosts an “Upscale Latin Saturdays” party on Saturdays, according to The New York Times.