Florida Gov. Rick Scott called the shooting at a gay Orlando nightclub on Sunday “heart-wrenching” and said people who went into the building knowing there was an active shooter are heroic.
He added: “To take that number of lives is clearly an act of terror.”
Scott spoke Sunday afternoon at a news conference, hours after 50 people were killed. Officials have said 53 more are hospitalized.
Scott urged people to donate blood.
Officials have said they’re investigating whether the incident was an act of terrorism. It was the worst mass shooting in American history.
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US President Barack Obama is set to give a statement Sunday afternoon about the shooting.
Obama was briefed by his homeland security and counterterrorism adviser and has asked for regular updates as the FBI and other federal officials work with police in Orlando, Florida, on the case.
The White House said Obama has directed federal officials to provide “any necessary assistance to pursue the investigation and support the Orlando community.
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