A dramatic picture of a police helmet that saved an officer's life after he was struck by a bullet during a gun battle with a nightclub shooter has been released.
Orlando Police tweeted a picture of the damaged Kevlar helmet after an officer was hit during a “hail of gunfire” at Pulse nightclub.
More than six thousand Twitter users have retweeted the striking image while a further 5,000 have ‘liked’ it.
The tweet read: “Pulse shooting: In hail of gunfire in which suspect was killed, OPD officer was hit. Kevlar helmet saved his life.”
Police said the suspect had exchanged gunshots with an officer working at the club, then went back inside and took hostages around 2am.
Around three hours later, a Swat team made the decision to go inside and rescue the hostages. The shooter died in a gunfight with those officers.
Pulse nightclub shooting
In addition to the gun, the shooter also had some sort of "suspicious device", authorities said.
At least 50 people have been killed and 53 have been injured in what has become the worst mass shooting in US history.
The man responsible for the atrocity has been named by police as Omar Mateen.
An FBI spokesman said the shooting is being investigated as an act of terror.
He added that authorities are working to establish whether the killer was a lone wolf or if it was a domestic or international atrocity.
The previous worst mass shooting in the US was the Virginia Tech massacre in which 32 people were killed in 2007.
