Kevlar Helmet Saved Cop's Life In Orlando Mass Shooting

Orlando, FL — An Orlando Police Officer shot “in a hail of gunfire” at the Pulse Nightclub Sunday morning is alive thanks to a Kevlar helmet, officials say.

The officer was hit in the head, but the helmet “saved his life,” the Orlando Police Department tweeted following the Sunday shooting, which is being described as a possible act of domestic terrorism.

The shooting reportedly began around 2 a.m. An officer responded to a call of shots fired at the club. He first engaged the shooter outside of the club, with gunfire exchanged. The man ran back inside Pulse, and a hostage situation began.

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Orlando Police first responders and SWAT team members were able to rescue “at least 30 people from inside the club,” the agency tweeted Sunday morning. Fifty people were killed and 53 injured in the shooting. The shooter was also killed.

The shooter has been identified as Omar Mateen, 29, from Port St. Lucie, according to U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson. Mateen is a U.S. citizen, but some of his family members are not. Grayson would not say where the family is from, but several media outlets have reported they are from Afghanistan.

Orlando Police have not yet released the identity of the officer shot on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of the Orlando Police Department