FBI Director James Comey said on Monday there were “strong indications” Orlando nightclub attacker Omar Mateen had been radicalised in part through the internet but federal authorities still are working to determine his exact motives.
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The Islamic State group claimed slain shooter Omar Mateen was acting as “one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America” when he attacked the Pulse club in the Florida resort city, an assault that ended when police stormed the venue.
In addition to the people killed, he wounded at least 53 others, police said.
Omar Mateen, 29, dialed 911, pledged allegiance to the ISIS terror group and then stormed the Pulse nightclub.
After a standoff of about three hours, while people trapped inside the club desperately called and messaged friends and relatives, police crashed into the building with an armored vehicle and stun grenades.
Mateen was the son of an Afghan immigrant who had a talk show in the United States, the nature of which was not entirely clear: A former Afghan official said the program was pro-Taliban and a former colleague said it was enthusiastically pro-American.
Seddique Mateen made his comments to reporters in his Port St. Lucie home this morning, at times putting his hand over his heart as he spoke.
The FBI closed the preliminary investigation, before briefly looking at him one more time in 2014.
“We’re here to celebrate, but we’re never safe”, says Evelyn Garcia, a college student. “In the course of the investigation, Mateen was interviewed twice”.
Following the deadly mass shooting in Orlando on Sunday, Supervisor Scott Wiener is convening safety meetings with the SFPD and members of the LGBT nightlife community to discuss security preparations for the upcoming Pride festivities the weekend of June 24, as NBC Bay Area reports. “That’s how he was shooting at people”, he said.
“They’re really trying to paint a picture of a confused person, who felt targeted because of his religion”, said Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane, reporting from Orlando. He described Mateen’s “Durand Jirga Show” as political satire and political news and said he believes Mateen stayed in a hotel during his visits to Los Angeles. Seddique Mateen said a few months ago, his son had witnessed two gay men being affectionate in public in Miami and got upset, but the father said he didn’t think much more of it.
The attacks triggered solidarity vigils by gay and lesbian groups – and their supporters – across the country and overseas.
– Hopper added that the FBI investigated Mateen yet again in 2014 when he was linked to Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, a US citizen who who blew himself up that year in a suicide attack in Syria. “So, I mean, you could always tell there was something there, like they knew something”.
“I believe weapons of war have no place on our streets”, she said. The gunman then went back inside and took hostages, Police Chief John Mina said.
Mr Hopper said Mateen was questioned in 2014 about his contacts with Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, a U.S. citizen who also had lived in Florida and became a suicide bomber in Syria that year.
Around 5 a.m., authorities sent in a SWAT team to rescue the hostages.
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Police said Mateen opened fire inside the club with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. He woke up to the news from Orlando and said it had “brought the whole day down”.
