Mateen also searched for the terms “Pulse Orlando” and “shooting” on Facebook during the attack, according to Fox. She responded with a text saying she loved him, and she also made several unanswered calls to his phone during Mateen’s standoff with police. Investigators have not commented on the claims.
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The reports are a reminder of how little is known about Mateen’s background and motivations. In an interview with Brazilian TV station SBT, Mateen’s ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, and her new fiancé, offer some further details.
Ty Smith told the paper that Mateen would sometimes “get so drunk he was loud and belligerent”.
Mateen also posted his ostensible political agenda on Facebook from the gay nightclub when he killed 49 people and wounded 53 others.
USA authorities on Wednesday warned that threats against Muslims would not be tolerated, after alleged incidents in the wake of the Orlando gay club massacre, which was carried out by a Muslim gunman.
“He’s been going to this bar for at least three years”, Callen said.
The Orlando Sentinel spoke with at least four other regulars who remembered seeing Mateen at Pulse at least a dozen times. “I recognized him from one of the apps but I instantly blocked him because, like, he was very creepy in his messages”. West said the two of them had never actually met, but he saw Mateen just before the shooting.
Today the FBI was investigating claims that Mateen had visited Pulse at least a dozen times over the past year and was a user of gay dating apps Jack’d, Grindr and Adam4Adam.
“I recognized him off Grindr”, Cedeno told MSNBC.
According to The Associated Press, an August 30, 2013, property deed in Saint Lucie County, Florida, identified Salman and Mateen as a married couple.
In general, NPR’s Jeff Brady notes, Mateen’s motivations remain murky.
Meanwhile, another report said that Mateen – an avowed ISIS supporter who died in a shootout with cops – was an excellent marksman who racked up near-perfect scores on Florida firearms tests. She apparently told investigators she drove the shooter to Pulse once so he could check the place out, possibly for the attack.
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Federal Bureau of Investigation officials say they have found no evidence of a larger plot, or any evidence that Mateen had any previous contact or support with Islamic State or other terrorist groups.
