The BBC's Philippa Thomas was on her way to a shooting range in Arizona when news emerged of the Orlando attack. People there told her banning guns was not the solution to the seemingly endless mass shootings in the US. 

Gun enthusiast Peter Ruh told her that if any of their gun club had been in the nightclub "this would not have happened". 

His wife, Carol, says President Barack Obama is trying to tear guns away from "right-thinking Americans". 

 "I would resist that to my dying breath."  

The spire on top of One World Trade Center in New York - itself a victim of the worst ever terror attack on US soil in 2001 - was lit up in rainbow colours on Sunday evening as a tribute to Orlando. 

Image source, EPA

Omar Mateen had undergone a thorough screening process when he began working as a security guard in 2007, his employer, G4S has said. 

"His screening was repeated in 2013 with no findings," said the security firm in a statement. It said it knew Mateen had been questioned by the FBI in 2013, but was unaware of any links to terror activities. 

Some changes were made to the Tony Awards ceremony in the light of the shooting. 

The cast of Hamilton, which won at least nine awards, went on stage for their performance without their prop guns.

The show's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, accepted his award for best score by reading a sonnet dedicated to the victims.

"We lived through times when hate and fear seemed stronger;

"We rise and fall and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer

"And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside." 

Image source, AP

The annual Broadway theatre awards the Tonys have been taking place in New York, but the glitz has been overshadowed by events in Florida. 

British host James Corden opened the ceremony by saying that "hate will never win" and that the show "stands as a symbol and a celebration of that principle".

The hashtag #loveislove, external is continuing to trend. There have now been more than 1.5m tweets using the tag. 

Many people are posting pictures of themselves with their same-sex partner, declaring their sexual orientation or explaining what it means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or non-binary.

The former wife of gunman Omar Mateen has been speaking to the media about her experience of living with him.

In an interview broadcast on CNN, , externalshe said he was initially "a normal being that cared about family, loved to joke, loved to have fun. But then a few months after we were married I saw his instability and he would get mad out of nowhere." 

She said he beat her "very often" and would not let her talk to her family. 

"I tried to see the good in him even then but my family was very tuned in to what I was going through and decided to visit me and rescue me out of that situation." 

The BBC's Tony Brown tweeted this image and video from the vigil going on now outside the White House. 

Amid the calls for blood donations in Orlando, there's growing criticism of the US policy, external which bars any man who has had sex with another man in the past year from giving blood. 

The rules were brought in as the Aids epidemic emerged in the 1980s, but gay rights groups have long been saying they are discriminatory and unnecessary because of rigorous safety checks and improved HIV testing. 

Brian Sims, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and an LGBT activist posted this appeal earlier on Facebook.

The BBC's North American correspondent Aleem Maqbool has been to an Islamic centre in Orlando, where he met Imam Tariq.

Donald Trump was quick to take to Twitter after it emerged that the assailant in the mass shooting was a child of Afghan immigrants, and had apparently "pledged allegiance" to the so-called Islamic State.  

He said: "Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!'' 

Like many Trump tweets, it instantly provoked outrage from detractors, but also praise from his supporters.

The BBC's North America reporter Anthony Zurcher looks at whether the attack could swing the US election for the controversial Republican candidate.

Image source, AP

The police statement quotes, external Trevor Velinor, assistant special agent in Tampa in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as saying the suspect had "legally purchased the firearms within the last week". 

Orlando's police department has issued a statement , externaldetailing the events of the night. It says that when officers arrived at the club after reports of shooting, the suspect "went deeper into the club where more shots were fired".

It quotes Mayor Buddy Dyer as saying: "This is probably the most difficult day in the history of Orlando."

Orlando police are slowly adding the names of people killed in the shooting to a list published online., external

The eighth person to be identified is Kimberly Morris, who was 37 years old.

In New York, people have been gathering at the Stonewall Inn, an important site in the history of the gay rights movement. Some continued to march and chant through the city's streets.

There have also been vigils taking place in US cities including Miami, Columbus in Ohio and outside the White House in Washington, DC.

Elsewhere around the world, people gathered in the French capital, Paris, and there are events planned in London on Tuesday.  , external

On Sunday police in California arrested a "heavily armed man" who said he was planning to attend a gay pride march in Los Angeles. Police are rowing back on earlier reports that he had expressed an intent to "harm the event". But they say the man - named as James Howell from Indiana - is being held on explosives and weapons charges. Police say they found three assault rifles, chemicals and a gas mask. The man was detained near Santa Monica beach where he was spotted by residents acting suspiciously. The authorities say they have not found any link with the shootings in Orlando. 

The scene outside the White House in Washington

More information has been filtering through about Omar Mateen. Imam Syed Shafeeq Rahman who knew him through Orlando's Islamic Center, expressed his shock to the the Associated Press news agency, adding that he was "peaceful" and "into body building..

"He would be quiet. He would be very peaceful".

He said that at one point he even wanted to become a police officer, but never pursued that ambition. 

Image source, Reuters