Two people were killed and six hurt yesterday in the second mass shooting in the US in as many days, with police still hunting the gunman in Orlando, Florida, officials said.

Panicked workers reportedly barricaded themselves into their offices at the Gateway Center in central Orlando as Swat teams combed through the 16-storey building trying to track down suspected shooter 40-year-old Jason Rodriguez. “The motive for the shooting, I do not know. I can confirm that he was a former employee at the business, what we’ve been told, but information is coming in, and it’s fluid,” said a police spokeswoman.