No clear evidence extremists directed Orlando killer: Obama

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama said on Monday there was no clear evidence that the shooter in Sunday's massacre in Orlando, Florida, was directed externally by a larger terrorist network.

"It appears that the shooter was inspired by various extremist information that was disseminated over the internet," the president told reporters in the Oval Office after a briefing by senior officials including Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey.

Obama said administration officials were examining various internet sites.

The shooter, Omar Mateen, expressed allegiance to the radical group Islamic State, also known as Daesh, ISIL and ISIS, in a call to the city's 911 emergency telephone number during a standoff with police while holding hostages in a nightclub called Pulse.

Obama also said the United States had to think about the risks of firearms laws that allow easy access to powerful guns.

Police have said the gunman was armed with an assault-rifle-type weapon and a handgun that were purchased legally.