Orlando shooter's father apologises for incident

New York: The father of the shooter who killed at least 50 people and injured 53 others when he opened fire early on Sunday in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, has apologised for the whole incident.

Flowers are placed at a make-shift memorial in front of the Stonewall Inn where a vigil was held following the massacre that occurred at a gay Orlando nightclub on June 12, 2016 in New York City. Pic/ AFP

"We are apologising for the whole incident. We were not aware of any action he is taking, we are in shock like the whole country. This had nothing to do with religion," MSNBC news quoted the gunman's father, Mir Seddique, as saying.

He claimed his son got very angry when he saw two men kissing in downtown Miami recently.

"We were in Downtown Miami, Bayside, people were playing music,"Seddique said.

"And he saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid and he got very angry. They were kissing each other and touching," he added.

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

"Although it's still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate," Obama was quoted as saying.

Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has claimed the responsibility for the shootings.

In a message published on the group's semi-official news agency, Amaq, it described gunman Omar Mateen as a "soldier of the caliphate", The Telegraph (UK) reported.

Although the statement did not clarify Mateen's relation to the group, but the language appeared to suggest he was viewed as a lone wolf attacker.