“Approximately” 20 people have been killed inside a Florida nightclub after a gunman opened fire, and at least 42 were wounded, police said.
Orlando Police Chief John Mina said authorities have not determined an exact number of people killed, but that “approximately 20” have died.
An FBI spokesman said the mass shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
He added that authorities are looking into whether this was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter was a lone wolf.
Mr Mina said the shooter was armed with an assault-type rifle, a handgun and some type of suspicious device. Police had said previously on Twitter that there was a “controlled explosion” at the scene of the shooting at Pulse Orlando.
Mr Mina said that noise was caused by a device intended to distract the shooter.
He also said the suspect had exchanged gunshots with an officer working at the club, then went back inside and took hostages around 2am.
Around three hours later, a Swat team made the decision to go inside and rescue the hostages.
The shooter died in a gunfight with those officers.
Police have told people to stay away from the area and said a noise in the vicinity was a “controlled explosion”. No further details were provided on the explosion.
Dozens of emergency vehicles are at the scene around the club.
The club, Pulse Orlando, posted on its own Facebook page just after 2am: “Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running.”
The incident follows the fatal shooting of 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie, who was killed after her concert in Orlando by a 27-year-old man from Florida who later killed himself.
Ms Grimmie was a YouTube sensation and former contestant on The Voice.
At least two police pick-up trucks were seen taking what appeared to be shooting victims to the Orlando Regional Medical Centre.
Jon Alamo said he was at the back of one of the club’s rooms when a man holding a weapon came into the front of the room.
“I heard 20, 40, 50 shots,” he said. “The music stopped.”
Club-goer Rob Rick said it happened around 2am, just before closing time.
“Everybody was drinking their last sip,” he said.
He estimated more than 100 people were still inside when he heard shots, got on the ground and crawled towards a DJ booth.
A bouncer knocked down a partition between the club area and an area in the back where only workers are allowed. People inside were then able to escape through the back of the club.
Mina Justice was outside the club trying to contact her 30-year-old son Eddie, who texted her when the shooting happened and asked her to call police.
He told her he ran into a bathroom with other club patrons to hide. He then texted her: “He’s coming.”
Ms Justice said: “The next text said: ‘He has us, and he’s in here with us.’ That was the last conversation.”
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