On Tuesday, a US official said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into a flurry of news reports quoting patrons of the Pulse as saying that Mateen frequented the club and reached out to men on gay dating apps.
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CNN reported that Mateen was also posting on Facebook during the attack.
The man who killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Omar Mateen, was himself a regular patron of gay clubs in Florida for years, classmates, friends and club employees told ABC News.
The FBI also revealed that Mateen’s internet search history in the weeks leading up the Pulse attack included searches for the Facebook accounts of the suspects in the December 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California, ISIS speeches, the gun store where he purchased the weapons he used in the Orlando shooting, and the Pulse nightclub itself.
Lynch said she would be traveling to Orlando on Tuesday to meet with investigators.
Despite his professed loyalty to the extremist group, the Obama administration has said it has seen no evidence that the shooting rampage was directed by the Daesh.
As he did in his call to a 911 operator during the massacre, Mateen pledged his allegiance on Facebook to the leader of the Daesh and, in his final post, warned: “in the next few days you will see attacks from the IS in the usa”.
Mateen, from Port St. Lucie in Florida, opened fire in the Pulse gay nightclub around 2.00 a.m.
McCoy said the love and support can only do so much to help.
So far, authorities have not yet confirmed if the shooter, who was killed by an elite police squad on Sunday morning, had visited the gay nightclub before and was a user of the gay dating app.
Speaking to CBS’ “Face The Nation”, Lynch said that a key goal of the investigation was to determine why Mateen targeted the gay community.
Visiting a gay club in and of itself would say nothing about Mateen’s sexuality, as he could have a variety of reasons for such a visit.
“These are some of the bravest toughest men I know”, Mina said.
Investigators have spoken extensively with her and are working to establish whether she recently accompanied Mateen to the club, said a second official who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
U.S. Attorney Lee Bentley repeatedly refused to say whether any charges might be brought against anyone.
Two people who worked at Pulse said they also recognized Mateen as a customer.
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Salman has been in seclusion for days.
