A gunman opened fire in a crowded nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday morning. At least 50 people are dead and 53 wounded.
It is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. The previous deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. was the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech. A student there killed 32 people before killing himself.
Here's a look at some of the nation's deadliest shooting attacks since 2012:
-- Feb. 25, 2016: Cedric Ford, 38, killed three people and wounded 14 others at a factory where he worked in the state of Kansas. The local police chief killed him during a shootout with 200 to 300 workers still in the building, officials said.
-- Feb. 20, 2016: Jason Dalton, 45, is accused of shooting and killing six people and severely wounding two others during a series of attacks over several hours in the Kalamazoo, Michigan, area. Officials say he took time between shootings to make money as an Uber driver. He faces murder and attempted murder charges.
-- Dec. 2, 2015: Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, opened fire at a social services center in San Bernardino, California. The married couple killed 14 people and wounding more than 20. They fled but died hours later in a shootout with police.
-- Oct. 1, 2015: A shooter at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, killed 10 people and wounded seven others. Shooter Christopher Harper-Mercer, 26, exchanged gunfire with police, then killed himself.
-- June 17, 2015: Dylann Roof, 21, shot and killed nine African-American church members during a Bible study group inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Police say the attack was based in racial hatred. Roof faces nine counts of murder in state court and dozens of federal charges, including hate crimes.
-- May 23, 2014: A community college student, Elliot Rodger, 22, killed six people and wounded 13 in shooting and stabbing attacks near the University of California, Santa Barbara. Officials said he apparently shot himself to death after a gun battle with deputies.
-- Sept. 16, 2013: Aaron Alexis, a mentally sick civilian worker, shot 12 people to death at a naval base in Washington D.C. Alexis was was killed in a police shootout.
-- July 26, 2013: Pedro Vargas, 42, shot and killed six people before officers shot him to death. The attack happened at Vargas' Hialeah, Florida, apartment building.
-- Dec. 14, 2012: In Newtown, Connecticut, an armed 20-year-old man entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and used a semi-automatic rifle to kill 26 people, including 20 first graders and six adult school staff members. He then killed himself.
-- Sept. 27, 2012: In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Andrew Engeldinger shot and killed six people at his workplace, including the company founder. He also wounded two others. Engeldinger had just been fired. He killed himself at the scene.
-- Aug. 5, 2012: In Oak Creek, Wisconsin, 40-year-old gunman Wade Michael Page killed six worshippers at a Sikh Temple before killing himself.
-- July 20, 2012: James Holmes, 27, fatally shot 12 people and injured 70 in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater. He was sentenced to life in prison, without no chance of early release.
-- April 2, 2012: Seven people were killed and three were wounded when a 43-year-old former student opened fire at Oikos University in Oakland, California. One Goh was charged with seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. Doctors found that Goh suffered from long-term paranoid schizophrenia and was unfit to stand trial.
Caty Weaver adapted this Associated Press report for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.
Words in This Story
nightclub - n. a place that is open at night, has music, dancing, or a show, and usually serves alcoholic drinks and food
previous - adj. existing or happening before the present time
deputies - n. important assistants who helps the leader of a government, organization, etc.
apartment - n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live
paranoid schizophrenia - n. chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, characterized especially by persecutory or grandiose delusions or hallucinations or by delusional jealousy
