He also called police during his rampage to voice allegiance to various militant Islamist groups.
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The classmate, who was not identified, said that he and Mateen would sometimes go to gay nightclubs after classes. Asked if his son was gay, the Afghan immigrant replied: “No. No”. While authorities are still investigating what motivated the gunman, the shooting is being considered at once both a hate crime and an act of terrorism.
In the wake of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, the White House is pushing Congress to legislate “common-sense steps” to curb access to weapons and “make it harder for any individual to get their hands on a weapon of war”.
Salman, as identified by the New York Post, was seen early Tuesday morning at the home she formerly shared with Omar Mateen gathering her belongings and shielding her face from cameras. Mateen’s father told NBC News that the sight of two men kissing angered his son. He said he saw Mateen inside at least a dozen times.
A one-time co-worker with security company G4S remembered Mateen as an angry man who used slurs for gay people, blacks, Jews and women, and threatened violence.
Hall said she didn’t recall what prompted Mateen to make that threat. She said Mateen talked about wanting the U.S.to “stop bombing my country”, a possible reference to his father’s native Afghanistan.
The official noted that the concept of martyrdom is not confined to Islam, as Christians also venerate martyrs who died for their beliefs.
At least four other customers at Pulse shared with the Orlando Sentinel that they had seen the shooter at the nightclub in the past.
Ty Smith said he’d seen Mateen being escorted drunk from Pulse on multiple occasions.
“That’s a lie”, Raymond Michael Sharpe said in a text message.
“I recognized him off Grindr”, Cedeno told MSNBC. “No one knew him”. Mateen, who was employed as a security guard, held two weapon permits, records show.
Comey said the FBI also was trying to determine whether Mateen had recently scouted Disney World as a potential target, as reported by People.com, which cited an unidentified federal law enforcement source.
The 29-year-old expressed support for rival groups that are bitter enemies of one another, such as ISIL, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda. Comey said “Our investigation turned up no ties”.
FBI Director James B. Comey said, “We know that this killing is upsetting to all Americans”.
Islamic State reiterated on Monday a claim of responsibility, though it offered no signs to indicate coordination with the gunman.
The group also claimed responsibility for an attack in France on Monday in which a suspected Islamist attacker stabbed a French police commander to death and later killed his partner.
The massacre reverberated through the US presidential race, with the presumptive major-party opponents in the November 8 election, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, clashing over how to confront Islamist militants.
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The FBI has recovered Mateen’s phone and will use location data to verify whether he previously visited the club, said a third official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity. Mateen claimed he made the remarks in anger because co-workers were teasing him and discriminating against him as a Muslim, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation eventually closed the case, Comey said.
