Omar Saddiqui Mateen was the gunman who opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida killing at least 50 people, two law enforcement officials told CNN.
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Mateen started firing just after 2 a.m.
The FBI previously released a transcript of Mateen’s 911 call which deleted any reference to ISIS because the agency said it did not want to give a platform to terror group.
“This is Mateen”, he told the operator.
More of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen’s negotiations with police have been released.
Mateen later told the hostage negotiator he spent the day fasting and praying in accordance with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a time usually used for self-reflection and religious devotion.
He then refuses to say his full name, says that he killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in response to US military presence in Iraq and Syria, and says that he should be called “soldier of god”. At times the shooter cursed and taunted the negotiator, who pleaded, “Tell me what’s going on”.
Mateen: You’re annoying me with these phone calls and I don’t really appreciate it. “I’m not a government”.
“You already know what I did”, Mateen responded.
In the tapes, Mateen repeatedly tells police he was a solder of ISIS. “What am I to do when my people are getting killed over there”, he said.
Mateen: My homeboy Tamerlan Tsarnaev did his thing on the Boston Marathon.so now it’s my turn, okay?
Mateen: My name is Islamic soldier, okay?
He also made odd threats, such as claiming that he had rigged bombs in cars that would take down an entire block and that he was wearing the kind of vest worn by terrorists in the suicide bombing attacks on Paris in 2015.
Negotiator: The air strikes need to stop.
Mateen repeatedly highlighted U.S. actions in Syria and Iraq as motivating his attack. The negotiator asks Mateen if he’s injured and if there’s someone else with him. He promised the negotiator there were bombs planted around the club, although this was false.
The police negotiator told Mateen he wanted to help him and wanted to resolve the standoff peacefully. After Mateen drops the first call, the negotiator calls him back several times, but Mateen stops talking shortly after he answers.
“I completely get what you’re saying”, the negotiator said.
When Mateen did talk, he focused his attention on airstrikes from the U.S. and Russian Federation on the Middle East, particularly Syria.
“Yo, the airstrike that killed Abu Wahib a few weeks ago”, Mateen said, referring to a strike that the Pentagon said had killed the senior Islamic State leader and three militants. “I’ve heard that and I want you to come outside and tell us that yourself so the message rings true from you without me passing along your message”, the negotiator tells Mateen. “You get what I’m saying?”
It appears the negotiations between Mateen and the officer ended at 3:25 a.m.
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The city of Orlando had originally opposed the release and said that the calls would not fall under public records laws, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting, said that the calls would not impact its case. “I’m doing that, but I need you to come outside with no weapons”.
