Liverpool to pay tribute to Orlando nightclub shooting victims
Liverpool will pay tribute to victims
Liverpool will pay tribute to those killed in the shooting at a gay night club in Orlando, Florida - which claimed the lives of 50 people.
The city council has confirmed St George's Hall will be illuminated with rainbow colours at around 9pm tonight.
There will also be a vigil held at St George's Plateau at 7pm.
50 people were killed and 53 were injured when a gunman opened fire in the nightclub Pulse on Sunday morning.
Omar Mateen, 29, the man suspected of carrying out America's worst mass shooting, was known to law enforcement agencies the FBI has confirmed.
The attack unfolded just after 2am when an officer working as a security guard at the club raised the alarm and engaged in a gun battle with Mateen.
The gunman then took a number of hostages inside the popular gay club.
Some clubbers mistook the sound of gunshots for music and the bar posted on its Facebook account: "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running."
US Congressman Alan Grayson said there was "some communication" between police and the gunman during the ensuing standoff.
"They (police) tried to coax him out and release the hostages at the same time as they were summoning the forces that they needed in order to go in and end the situation with the minimal loss of life."
At 5am police launched a mission to rescue the hostages and 11 officers stormed the club, shooting dead Mateen, who had worked as a security guard for G4S.
A statement carried by the IS-linked Amaq news agency said the mass shooting was "carried out by an Islamic State fighter," while the terror group reportedly referred to Mateen as a "soldier of the caliphate" in a radio bulletin.
The Islamic State claim came after it emerged that the suspect reportedly swore allegiance to IS in a 911 call he made just before the attack.
The FBI confirmed the call, saying it was now "federal evidence" but officials familiar with the investigation say no evidence has yet been found of ties between Mateen, who is an American of Afghan descent, and terror groups.
Other landmarks across the world have already begun to light up in tribute.
President Barack Obama has condemned the massacre as an "act of terror and an act of hate", lamenting "how easy it is" for criminals to get their hands on weapons.
Celebrities have been taking to Twitter to call for tighter gun controls after the shocking incidents.