It was the deadliest shooting in United States history.
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“It is my understanding that Omar Mateen used Facebook before and during the attack to search for and post terrorism-related content”, Johnson told Facebook in a letter.
The gunman, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was found dead inside the nightclub after a shootout with the police.
According to U.S. reports, she told authorities she tried to stop him from carrying out the massacre, which killed 49 people in the early hours of 49 people.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that police escorted Salman back to the apartment she shared with Mateen in Fort Pierce on Tuesday, local time. “He appears to have been an angry, disturbed, unstable young man who became radicalised”, President Barack Obama told reporters after a meeting of the White House National Security Council.
An FBI representative said that Mateen “was organised and well prepared” for the attack, and the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed that he was armed with an assault-style rifle and a handgun that he had legally bought a few days before.
“I love you, babe”, Mateen then told her.
On Monday, FBI Director James Comey explained that agents believe Mateen had been radicalized by Islamist propaganda, but found no evidence that the shooting had been coordinated from overseas. In his 911 call, he also expressed solidarity with the Boston Marathon bombers and an American suicide bomber who died fighting for Al Qaeda in Syria.
“I am not going to speculate as to any charges that might be brought or indeed as to whether any charges might be brought in this case”, said Lee Bentley, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. “I am the shooter”, Mateen said, according to producer Matthew Gentili.
“America and Russian Federation stop bombing the Islamic state”, Mateen wrote in another.
“Law enforcement is talking to everyone associated with the shooter”, said Mr. Bentley, declining to say whether Ms. Salman is cooperating with investigators. The source says a federal grand jury has been appointed and Salman could be charged by Wednesday. It’s unclear how long that will take.
Mateen, 29, who was killed when police stormed the club, pledged allegiance to so-called Islamic State (IS) during the attack, authorities say.
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A survivor of the massacre, 20-year-old Patience Carter, shed more light on Mateen’s thinking, saying he talked about wanting America to “stop bombing my country” – a possible reference to his father’s native Afghanistan.
