Orlando shooting live: Gunman Omar Mateen kills 50 people at Orlando gay club Pulse – latest updates

The 'domestic terrorism incident' is the deadliest mass shooting in US history

Orlando Police officers direct family members away from the scene of the shooting (Reuters)

At least 50 people have been killed and 53 injured after a gunman launched what police say was a "domestic terrorism incident" at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Here are the latest updates:

• Shooter identifed by police as Omar Mateen
• Orlando gay night club gunman worked for global security firm G4S
• Isis claims responsibility for Orlando gay nightclub shooting​
• Obama says Orlando shooting “was an act of terror and an act of hate”​
• Witnesses speak of horror after shooting
• Father tells US media 'this was not about religion'
• Facebook activates safety check feature after attack
• A timeline of the deadliest mass shootings in US history

Police say an officer working as a security guard inside the Pulse nightclub exchanged fire with the suspect at about 2am local time (7am UK time), before a hostage situation developed, a team of officers entered the club and shot dead the gunman.

Police identified the attacker as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old from Port St. Lucie, Florida – more than 100 miles away from Pulse.

His family is from Afghanistan, while Mateen is believed to have been born in the United States.

Mr Mateen, who is said by the FBI to have "leanings" towards extremism and Isis, was involved with a stand-off with officers for around three hours before SWAT teams stormed the building and shot him dead.