Get out of here. Oh, my god, dude. That guy is firing off shots. Reporter at 2 02 a. M. , gunfire tears through the music and the crowded club, packed with more than 300 people. I thought i was going to die. Like, i didnt know if i was going to come out alive. Reporter at 2 09, the club posted a chilling message on facebook. Everyone get out of pulse and keep running. A Uniformed Police officer working security confronts the shooter, now identified as omar mateen, who retreats further into the club, taking hostages. A witness text his mother that hes taking cover in the restroom but fear the gunman will soon come inside. At 3 00 a. M. , bomb squad and hazmat teams called to the scene. I have a ballistic vest for any of our individuals entering the red zone. Reporter a Massive Police response as hostage negotiators try to make contact. We have one on scene. Reporter for the next three hours, frantic confusion. This woman desperately waits to hear from her son. I dont know if hes still in the club, if hes incapacitated and hes dead or if hes being worked on here at the hospital. Reporter so many injured, First Responders run out of ambulances, forced to transport some of the wounded in Police Pickup trucks. Christopher hanson in the middle of the carnage. Everybody was doing their thing, dancing, drinking, and then you hear just bang, bang, bang. And its continuous. At first it sounded like the music. Then after that, you just i looked over and i saw bodies falling, people screaming. Reporter around 5 00 a. M. , police used a controlled explosion to distract the gunman. Authorities plow into the club with an armored vehicle. A s. W. A. T. Team rushing in to rescue hostages, killing the gunman in a firefight. One officer injured, shot in the head, but saved by his kevlar helmet. The scale of the horrifying scene growing by the minute. Per staging we now have a large mci unit. Reporter initial reports estimate about 20 people are killed. But by mid morning comes this stunning announcement. We have cleared the building, and it is with Great Sadness that i share we have not 20 but 50 casualties. Reporter the deadliest mass shooting ever in the u. S. They were beautiful people, and they didnt deserve that. Reporter and what the mayor of orlando is calling the citys darkest day. Fbi agents have descended on to the shooters home in ft. Pierce, florida, some 120 miles away from the pulse nightclub shooting. Meanwhile, friends and family stand by for word on their loved ones. Nbcs blake mccoy joins us from outside the pulse nightclub. Good morning to you, blake. Whats the latest there . Reporter good morning. You can see behind me, theyve set up for a press conference, which will begin in about 30 minutes. This will be the first update we receive today on the investigation and where things stand. We can tell you that 23 of the 50 People Killed inside that nightclub massacre have now been identified. They range in age from 20 to 50 years old, both men and women. This comes as we are seeing a clearer picture of who the shooter was, omar mateen, 29 years old. Excoworker describes him as unhinged. His exwife, during their short fourmonth marriage, says he was abusive. Take a listen. A few months after we were married, i saw his instability, and i saw that he was spiteful and would get mad out of nowhere. Thats when i started worrying about my safety. After a few months, he started abusing me physically. He was mentally unstable and mentally ill. Thats the only explanation i could give. He was obviously disturbed. Reporter mateen was an employee of g4s, which is a private security company. He was most recently guarding a Senior Community facility here. They say he did pass background checks in his almost nine years of employment. The fbi did investigate him in 2013 and 2014 for possible terror ties. Ultimately, no charges were filed and they had no evidence to move forward with those investigations. They were closed. Dara . Black mccoy, live outside pulse nightclub. Thank you so much. And we are starting to learn more about the victims. The city of orlando is posting online the names of those identified and whose next of kin have been contacted. Right now over a dozen of the victims have been confirmed. One is 30yearold eddie justice. Before he was positively identified, his mother shared texts the pair sent as the shooting happened. He text me at 2 06 and said, mommy, i love you. In the club, theyre shooting. That was at 2 06. Trapped in the bathroom. Downtown, please call police. Im going to die. Call them, mama, now. Im telling you im in the bathroom. Hes coming. Im going to die. In addition to those killed, 53 are still recovering from their injuries, many in serious condition. Nbcs sarah daulof is live outside the hospital. Whats happening there . Reporter its a Level One Trauma Center and a lot of patients were brought here after that scene was cleared and they began treating the injured. Its also been one of the first stops friends and family have made to try to gather information about their loved ones. Unfortunately, some are leaving with the worst possible news you could imagine. Andrew allman lost five friends in the massacre. They were beautiful people, and they didnt deserve that at all. And i pray that when they go to heaven that they see everybody that cares for them. Reporter and you mentioned, dara, that list a few minutes ago that officials have been adding names to once the dead have been positively identified and their in connection of kin notified. A few minutes ago, they added more names. The total of identified people now stands at 23. The oldest, 50 years old. The youngest, just 21. People are asking people to please hold off on any Public Memorials or vigils. Their resources are already stretched so thin and they need to continue to focus on the investigation and the victims. Back to you. Sarah dallof reporting from florida with more heartbreaking news there. Thank you so much. Nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with a quick look at todays weather. Good morning to you. Good morning to you. Not a lot of bad weather in the west, thats good news. Northwest, moving on shorter during the day today. Worst weather in the middle of the country. Severe weather outbreak, maybe even a few tornadoes and areas of large hail. All in all, were happy to reportpretty warm in Central California and hot weather returning to the areas of the desert southwest. Thats your monday forecast. Bill, thank you so much for that. Much more ahead on this special edition of early today, including an outpouring of support for the Lgbt Community. Be the you who doesnt cover your moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Be the you who shows up in that dress. 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Just one of many tributes held as the Lgbt Community stood together in the face of what president obama called an act of hate. Men and women rallied in front of the historic stonewall inn. Others attended rallies and vigils across the country from gay pride parades in los angeles and boston to the gates of the white house and the streets of chicago, all in solidarity with those killed. Im joined now by the managing editor of nbcout. Com and Jonathan Lovitz from the national gay and lesbian, orlando native who has been to the pulse night canclub a number of times. I want to talk to you about that, jonathan. Its a large room with quite a few parallel rooms all around it. Theres different music playing and different sets of lights in every room. Ive got hundreds of great memories there with so many friends. Its heartbreaking to think about so many communities with so many friends torn apart by this. It hits close to home. It was a real violation of a sacred space. We talked about that a lot. Theres a lot of conversation going on about that right now, making sure that lgbt spaces are protected, are safe. For some people, particularly without the luxury, privilege of being in the big cities, its the one place youve got to know that who you are, who you love and the way you want to live is respected. To have that taken away is a real violation. Were not going to stand for t as we go into pride, well see people fight even harder to defend that. Some of the families dont even know what has happened to their loved ones. How is the community handling that . Theres just been an unbelievable outpouring of love from the Lgbt Community side, all these great groups come together, our over affiliate orlando, joined with others at the lgbt center to offer grief counseling, those who need it. Go fund me page which has been incredibly successful in surpassing its goal in helping the victims and its families. My own sisters were sending me photos of hundreds of people in line waiting to give blood because thats the only way they know how to give back. Theyre so thrown by this tragedy. Everybody is pulling together. You were down at stonewall, brooke, last night. Talk about the atmosphere there. There was a lot of love and support pouring out from the folks that were there, but also a lot of anger. Anger at the shooter. Anger at the lack of gun control. Anger at the antilgbt rhetoric weve heard from politicians and others. There was a lot of anger, lot of raw emotion. This is gay pride month. You have a lot of events coming up. How will this impact those Upcoming Events . One sentiment i hear from people, we cant take this laying down. We cant be silent. We have to be at pride events, at lgbt spaces. We need to be louder and prouder this month than at any other time. And talking about the emotional stability and how disturbing this has been to the Lgbt Community, what is the sense across the nation as to how this is being handled . Look at social media. Look at the responses pouring in from all over the world. There is an unbelievable sense of both solidarity and concern about what may happen next. But if theres one thing we know, its that we may be knocked down, but were not out. Certainly not by a longshot. The community, i think, will rally around us because its pride month, because were not going to be taken down at a time of such celebration for the community. Find strength in the support of other communities, who have immediately stood up and said weve got your back. An attack on the Lgbt Community is an attack on everybody. There are men and women. There are every ethnicity, every race is part of this community. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. And were not going to take that quietly. And this has been a heartbreaking event. Obviously, our prayers go out to everybody and the family in this event. Thank you for your time. Appreciate you being here. Terror attack has caused a major shift across the political spectrum, including the president and the candidates. Details on that next. On that net nights, this is the potty. These robot sheets, they needed more than detergent could handle. They needed a rescue. Otherwise, we might have had to say byebye to our favorite robots ya. So we added tide rescue to the wash. It cleans super deep down where detergent just doesnt. Daddy, ive got to go potty progress go, go, go eww stinky. Introducing tide rescue. Eliminates tough odors at the source. Find it in the stain remover aisle. Are you ready to take the gel envy challenge . Revlon colorstay gel envy with diamond top coat. We challenged the leading competitor and look how they cracked under pressure. Try it for yourself. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Take the revlon gel envy challenge today. Whats yours . Illion ways to top your kids rice krispies. A dash of fruit in their favorite colo. A bunch of pineapple cause hey its summe bananas and berries cause the letter b rock. A little bit of yogurt . Sure why not . The fun never stops how many ways can you snap, crackle, pop . This morning on today, matt lauer is live in orlando with firstperson accounts of the massacre and the latest details on the investigation into the shooter. While orlando mourns and searches for answers, as does the country and its political leaders, a clearly shaken president obama yesterday stood before the nation to call the nightclub attack both an act of terror and one of hate. Hillary clinton then called for stronger gun reforms while donald trump slammed president obama and reiterated his call for a temporary muslim ban. Nbcs Kelly Odonnell has more on whats ahead today. Reporter as the new week begins, the white house says the president will have an inperson briefing today from fbi director james comey, Homeland Security secretary jeh johnson and a Top Justice Department official. Vice President Biden skipped a planned Campaign Event in florida to come back to washington, d. C. Hell be in that meeting as well. President obama is also changing his plans to campaign for Hillary Clinton. He would have made his first joint appearance on the campaign trail with clinton, but that has been postponed. Instead, Hillary Clinton will keep to her schedule today, going to ohio. Shell give a speech in cleveland, which will now be tailored to respond to the events in orlando, discussing terrorism, gun reform, and expressing her concern for the Lgbt Community. Donald trump is also making some changes to his plans, canceling a rally for New Hampshire but still going to the state, where he, too, will deliver a speech, changing his topic as well and advisers say he will talk about terrorism and talk about what he believes is weak leadership and a different approach to deal with domestic terrorism and how the country should respond in the wake of the orlando attack. There are changes to the campaign trail, some acknowledging that there is a pause in politics, and others like trump already critical of both president obama and Hillary Clinton. The campaign trail will be affected, and so will all of the official workings of washington as Congress Comes back to town as well. Nbcs Kelly Odonnell reporting. And just ahead, dedications from around the country, including a stanley cup moment. And broadways best dedicates the tony awards to the victims of the orlando massacre. Dogs sure can be messy. 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Nivea inshower body lotion. In the body lotion aisle. New aquafina sparkling. Lightness and refreshment in perfect sync. Aquafina sparkling. For happy bodies. Are you ready to take the gel envy challenge . Revlon colorstay gel envy with diamond top coat. We challenged the leading competitor and look how they cracked under pressure. Try it for yourself. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Take the revlon gel envy challenge today. The fbi is investigating a man detained in santa monica on weapons and explosives charges who said he planned to attend the l. A. Pride festival. 20yearold James Wesley Howell was arrested on a suspicious person call sunday morning. Officers found several assaultstyle rifles, highcapacity magazines, and chemicals used to make explosives in his car. Officials dont believe theres a connection between howell and the orlando nightclub shooter. At last nights tony awards, they were dedicated to those affected by the orlando tragedy. Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this atrocity. All we can say is you are not on your own right now. Your tragedy is our tragedy. Theater is a place where every race, creed, sexuality, and gender is equal, is embraced, and is loved. Hate will never win. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer. And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside. The nhl held a moment of silence before last nights game six of the stanley cup finals to honor the victims of the shooting. The nhl, the san jose sharks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins ask that you please stand and join in a moment of silent reflection on this tragedy. Thank you. And the Pittsburgh Penguins are the 2016 stanley cup champions. They beat the sharks 31 last night to take the series 42. Sidney crosby was voted the playoff mvp. This is early today. Im dara brown. Everywhere, eve. 2 back at Grocery Stores and now at wholesale clubs. And 3 back on gas. Kenny used his bankamericard cash rewards credit card to join the wednesday night league. Because he loves to play hoops. Not jump through them. Thats the excitement of rewarding connections. Apply online or at a bank of america near you. People can forget their quiltbathroom experience. Well but sir froggy can never forget. Whats worse, he thinks. That my arms can never relax or my eyes can never look away . Whats yours . Illion ways to top your kids rice krispies. A dash of fruit in their favorite colo. A bunch of pineapple cause hey its summe bananas and berries cause the letter b rock. A little bit of yogurt . Sure why not . The fun never stops how many ways can you snap, crackle, pop . Right now on a day when some dip [ bleep ] terrorist wants us to focus on one mans act of brutality and hatred, it might be worth seeing this video, which was posted to twitter today. It shows hundreds and hundreds of people this morning lining up around the block in florida waiting to donate blood. And it kind of reminds you that that terrorist dip [ bleep ] is vastly outnumbered. That was john oliver last night, drawing attention to how folks in orlando were coming together in the wake of tragedy. What happened at the pulse nightclub is the newest and deadliest chapter of whats become a fact of life in this country Mass Shootings with loss of life. Heres nbcs harry smith. Reporter a sunday morning was shaken by news that has become all too familiar. It was orlando, but said president obama this could have been any one of our communities. Reporter as it has been so many times before. San bernardino, california, last december. 14 killed in a terrorist attack. Charleston, south carolina, last june. Nine killed at the mother emanuel church. Newtown, connecticut, 27 killed at sandy hook elementary, most of them first graders. Blacksburg, virginia, 32 gunned down on the campus of virginia tech. Just some of the attacks america has endured. The president said america has a choice. We have to decide if thats the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well. Reporter in orlando, violence has left at least 50 more families in mourning. In the coming hours and days, well learn about the victims of this tragedy. Their names, their faces, who they were, the joy that they brought to families and to friends, and the difference they made in this world. Reporter some families are clinging to hope that their loved ones, ones who survived, will be okay. The families who are learning that their loved ones have been killed are crippled by grief. Lives forever shattered by one man, his hate, and his guns. We have been here too many times before, and with no sign that anything will change, we fear this will not be the last. Harry smith, nbc news, orlando. Stay with nbc news and nbcnews. Com for the latest on sundays horrific attack in orlando. Im dara brown. Thanks for watching early today. See you back here tomorrow. Environmental stewardship at Whole Foods Market is really built into the foundation of the company. Whole foods market is engaged with pg e on many levels, to really reduce energy and reduce our environmental footprint. For a customer like whole foods, saving energy means helping our environment, and we can be a part of that. Helping Customers Save Energy is a very important part of what pg e does. We can pass those savings on to the environment, the business, and the community. Pg e really is an expert in saving energy, and that partnership is extremely exciting. Together, were building a better california. Laura 2shot and im laura garcia cannon. Good monday morning. You are watching today in the bay. We begin live from orlando with the latest details on the worst mass shooting in u. S. History. With more to come. The number to call for families is 4072464357. As the next of kin are being notified, we are putting the names of the victims on city of orlando victims. Again, i want to compliment the medical examiner for the work they did all night long