Orlando nightclub shooting: Facebook activates 'Safety Check' for first time in US

Washington: Social networking giant Facebook on Sunday activated its Safety Check feature for users in the US after a gunman massacred at least 50 people and wounded 53 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida early Sunday.

This is the first time that Facebook has activated its “Safety Check” function in the United States.

The feature lets Facebook users in Orlando confirm that they’re safe, unsafe or outside the affected area with the click of a button.

A click or tap on the "I'm Safe" button lets friends and loved ones know straight away. Users can also check to see whether their friends are safe too.

The gunman, named by officials as Afghan-origin Omar Mateen, 29, was killed by a SWAT team after he took hostages at Pulse, a popular gay night club.

It is believed that the suspect, who was a US citizen from the Florida town of Port St Lucie, was not on a terrorism watch list, although he was being investigated for an unrelated criminal act, BBC reported.

US President Barack Obama called the mass shooting an "act of terror" and "act of hate".

Facebook's Safety Check feature, launched in October 2014, has now been deployed on several occasions including the terrorist attacks in Paris, France last November.

(With IANS inputs)