Although he claimed allegiance to ISIS, he also said during his 911 conversations that the Tsarnaev brothers, who attacked the Boston Marathon in 2012 (but did not affiliate themselves with ISIS), were his "homeboys," the FBI said. Mateen texted Salman as the attack was underway. A grand jury is looking into what his second wife, Noor Salman, might have known about her husband's plans to target Pulse and whether she should face charges in connection with the attack. His ex-wife, Sitora Yusifiy, said he was an abusive husband. Mateen's first marriage ended in divorce. This undated file image shows Omar Mateen, 29, whose attack on the Pulse club left 49 victims dead. But "the FBI has found no evidence so far to support claims by those who say Mateen had gay lovers or communicated on gay dating apps," according to the Los Angeles Times. At least two men said they interacted with Mateen on gay dating apps. But multiple media outlets reported that some Pulse regulars recognized Mateen and said he had frequented the nightclub as a patron. The elder Mateen said his son had become angered recently at the sight of two men kissing. I don't know why he did it," he told NBC News. The gunman's father, Seddique Mir Mateen, condemned the attack. Mateen was married twice and had a 3-year-old son. "No ties of consequence" were found, Comey said. citizen from Florida who blew himself up in a 2014 suicide attack in Syria. In July 2014, FBI agents again looked at Mateen as they investigated anyone with possible ties to Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, a U.S. He was placed on a watch list when the investigation began, and taken off when it was closed in March 2014. In May 2013, Mateen claimed to have ties to both al-Qaida and Hezbollah, sparking a 10-month inquiry that sought anything tying him to more substantial threats. He was also licensed to be a security officer, working most recently for the global security company G4S, where he'd been employed since 2007.įBI Director James Comey said Mateen had been investigated in 2013 and again in 2014.
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Police used explosives to try to breach the exterior cinder block wall of a bathroom where a dozen or so people were hiding, near another bathroom where Mateen had holed up with several hostages.Īccording to public records, Mateen had possessed a valid firearm license since September 2011. approached, those inside had been trapped for nearly three hours, some wounded and bleeding, calling police from their cellphones and pleading for help. As clubgoers were being rescued, they told police the shooter had threatened to put bomb vests on four people within 15 minutes.Īs 5 a.m. (Right) Law enforcement personnel respond.Īt 3:58 a.m., the Orlando Police Department's Twitter account warned residents to stay away from the area.Īt 4:21 a.m., police cleared a way for some people trapped inside the club to escape by dislodging an air conditioning unit from a Pulse dressing room window. (Left) Bystanders wait down the street from Pulse. (Top) Orlando police officers direct family members away from the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on the night of the attack. Mateen is also believed to have spent time online during his siege of the club, checking Facebook and searching for "Pulse Orlando" and "shooting." He called a friend. Searches inside and outside the club failed to turn up these items, investigators said. Mateen identified himself as "an Islamic soldier," according to the FBI, and threatened to detonate explosives, including a car bomb and a suicide vest - the kind "used in France," he said, referring to the terrorist attacks in Paris last November. He had a second conversation with them at 3:03 a.m. "My name is I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State."Īt 2:48 a.m., the gunman - whose name was Omar Mir Seddique Mateen - spoke with crisis negotiators from the Orlando police.
"I wanna let you know, I'm in Orlando and I did the shootings," the gunman told the operator during this 50-second call, according to a transcript released by the FBI. In Songs, Stories, Latino And LGBT Voices On How The Orlando Attack Feels Personal