The gunman who police say killed at least 49 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando was reportedly a regular at the venue.
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Prosecutors have convened a grand jury to investigate Noor Salman, wife of gunman Omar Mateen, sources quoted by Fox News and Reuters say.
The official says investigators had been told that Mateen and his wife had been at the Pulse nightclub on a prior occasion and were trying to confirm the accuracy of that statement. “I said, ‘Hey, ‘ and he turned and said, ‘Hey, ‘” and nodded his head”, Mr West told the Los Angeles Times.
“It’s not clear whether he was making these connections – if he in fact did so – in order to case the place for a possible attack or for some other motive”, NPR’s Carrie Johnson said. There are other reports that suggest Mateen created profiles on a number of gay dating apps. “I don’t forgive him as a father”, Mateen said.
Drag performer Samuel King, who also worked at the restaurant Ruby Tuesday, said that he knew Mateen around 2004 and that he exhibited no signs of anger toward homosexuals, according to the Daily Beast.
“We went to a few gay bars with him, and I was not out at the time, so I declined his offer”, the former classmate told the newspaper.
Here’s what reporting we know: several people on the record saying shooter was on several gay dating apps and messaged with them…
She was seen with a 3-year-old boy she had been raising with Mateen. She also said she once drove him to the club because he wanted to see it in advance, according to law enforcement sources.
“It appears she had some knowledge of what was going on”, said US Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which had a briefing on the attack on Tuesday.
Cord Cedeno told MSNBC he has a friend who said he has known Mateen since as far back as 2007.
The younger Mateen called 911 during his attack at Pulse nightclub and pledged allegiance to the leader of ISIS.
Wielding an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a handgun, Mateen opened fire at the club early on Sunday in a three-hour rampage and hostage siege which ended with a Swat team killing him.
The mayor tells us the city is opening an assistance center Wednesday.
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He said Mateen was clearly “radicalized”, at least in part via the internet.
