A Baptist minister in the US has praised the Orlando shooting, referring to gay people as 'paedophiles' and stating Florida was safer after the massacre.

Pastor Roger Jimenez spoke from Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento, California, just hours after 49 people were killed at Pulse gay club by gunman Omar Mateen.

More about the Orlando shooting

"When people ask me if I'm sad that 50 sodomites died. Here's the problem, it's the equivalent of asking me, hey, are you sad that 50 paedophiles were killed today? Erm, no, I think that's great. I think that helps society. I think Orlando, Florida's a little safer tonight," he said from the pulpit.

"The tragedy is that more of them didn't die, I'm upset he didn't finish the job, because these people are predators, they're abusers," he added.

"These are evil people."

The pastor quoted several passages from the bible in his ranting hate speech, also telling his congregation gay people were perverts and predatory.

His comments came in the wake of the worst shooting in US history, in an attack on an LGBT venue that saw thousands of people all over the world hold vigils to show solidarity with the victims and the gay community.

The shooter, who opened fire on revellers at the nightclub at around 2am on 12 June, was described by his father Seddique Mateen as having been "angry" when he saw two men kissing in the street in Miami several month prior to the attack.

The killer's father also said his son should not have shot at the men and women in the gay club because it was up to god to punish those involved in homosexuality, according to a translation by the Washington Post, but later he said the meaning had been lost in translation.