Orlando is America's worst shooting ever. Grief and outrage on Twitter

At least 50 people were killed and 53 inured at a Florida nightclub in Orlando in what can easily be called one of the deadliest ever mass shootings in the history of United States of America.

A gunman, now identified as Omar Mateen, opened indiscriminate fire at inside a gay nightclub called Pulse in the city of Orlando, and the resulting rampage saw a bloodbath unmatched in the recent history of American epidemic that is gun violence.

The trigger-happy violence began as Saturday night partygoers at Pulse nightclub had settled into a lazier mood in the wee hours of Sunday, and sometime around 2 am, Pulse sent out an SOS on Facebook: "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running."

Though the SWAT team descended within minutes of the emergency call, over 50 were killed and another 53 injured as Mateen kept firing without a pause. People scrammed and shouting, fell on the ground, while the lifeless bodies just collapsed in a heap.

The incident soon turned into hostage situation with an officer working at the club tried defending the crowd, but he was outmatched by the thorough preparedness of the gunman.

It must be noted that June 2016 is the gay pride month in America, and even Present Barack Obama has voiced his firm support for the LGBTQ community, which suffered a merciless blow today.

The grievous violence is being attributed to rising homophobia and unchecked gun possession in the US, with the National Rifle Association-led gun lobby active ly preventing tighter gun control even though the Democrats, particularly President Obama himself, are strongly for strict gun control.

An estimate puts the Orlando massacre as the 178th gun-related violence in the US in the 2016 itself.

Omar Mateen, the suspected gunman, from Fort Pierce, Florida, was also killed in the rampage. However, there is an all-out war between those who are pro gun control versus those dead against over whether Orlando being awash with guns and Pulse nightclub being located in a "gun-free zone" had anything to do with the heinous crime.

Mateen was born in the US in 1986, and his parents are Afghani immigrants. The Orlando massacre is likely to fuel both anti-immigrant backlash as well as calls for tighter gun laws, and may have a significant impact on the election campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, though perhaps in the opposite directions.

The White House said President Obama was briefed on the incident Sunday.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims,” the White House said in a statement. “The President asked to receive regular updates as the FBI, and other federal officials, work with the Orlando Police to gather more information, and directed that the federal government provide any assistance necessary to pursue the investigation and support the community.”

The Sunday rampage quickly follows the fatal shooting of American singer and star of The Voice - Christina Grimmie - at an Orlando concert venue.