However, the authorities have cautioned against making any direct linkages to the Islamic State.
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There have been a few previous attacks on gay nightclubs, but only one that caused a significant number of deaths. In a report for NPR, Eileen Holliday depicted the club as “a longtime staple in the gay community” that drew a wide-ranging audience.
Orlando Police Chief John Mina said the tragedy began unfolding at 2:02 a.m., when three police officers engaged the suspect in a gun battle outside the club.
Akhtar Kureshi, 63, originally from Karachi in Pakistan, said he had been at the mosque on Saturday night with Mateen’s father, a peaceful man and from a “good family”. He was killed in a shootout with police inside the Pulse nightclub.
“I never expected this”, Rahman said, holding a Quran in his hand as he spoke with reporters. “He came at the last minute and did not talk to anybody”, the imam said.
Gun violence in the United States has in recent years grabbed headlines nationwide and worldwide, especially such cases as the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 in CT, in which 20-year-old Adam Lanza entered an elementary school and fatally shot 20 children as well as six adult staff members. They said she moved to Florida when she married Mateen.
On Sunday morning, Mateen became something far larger: a lone gunman who authorities say was responsible for the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Speaking of the suspected one gunman, American-born US citizen Omar Mateen, Obama asserted that no single motive has been confirmed, but called Mateen “a person filled with hatred”.
Authorities also say Mateen legally purchased at least two firearms within the past week or so.
The FBI’s Wysopal said Monday that some 100 leads have been generated.
The ongoing criminal investigation is in the early stages, said U.S. Attorney Lee Bentley.
When she walked out in 2009, Yusufiy assumed the “horrible mistake” she had made was long behind her. Mateen had tried to contact her through Facebook a year ago, she said, but she blocked him.
Mateen had worked with private security group G4S Secure Solutions as a private security officer.
Mateen first came to the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2013, said Central Florida Special Agent in Charge Ron Hopper. The agency closed that investigation, concluding that the contact was minimal. Western intelligence officials believe Adnani oversees ISIS’ external attack plotting and had command responsibility for the Paris and Brussels attacks.
Mateen’s father has spoken publicly about the attack.
On NBC News, Seddique Mateen apologized for the massacre, saying, “We are in shock like the whole country”.
“This had nothing to do with religion”, The elder Mateen added. He also wounded two others at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis before taking his own life.
According to Mateen’s ex-wife, he was mentally unstable, suffering from an diagnosed bipolar and also had a history of steroid use.
“There was no sign of any of this at all”, she said.
The city of Orlando is updating its public list of those killed in the attack, pending notification of next of kin.
“When people are targeted by others who are scared of difference, they’re not safe when they go dancing, they’re not safe when they go out to pray”, she said. “There are plenty of ways they can get us, and if we respond by having an armed guard at every night club, there’s plenty of other places that will still be vulnerable”.
Orlando residents and others lined up to donate blood Sunday.
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Nadine Smith of Equality Florida said groups are planning vigils around the nation. In the wake of mass shootings in Washington D.C. “But because, I guess, I was the only one in his life, most of the violence was towards me at that time”. Experts say the measures reflect the way policymakers and businesses often deal with mass shootings – protecting against the last attack, not the future ones that are more hard to imagine and predict. The Eiffel Tower will be lighted in rainbow colors tonight. “I want to express my profound sadness and condolences to all who have lost loved ones”.
