In gunfire OPD officer shot: Kevlar helmet saved him /L51ynmRAfm- Orlando Police June 12, 2016
He carried an AR-15 rifle and a handgun, authorities said. Police said Mateen opened fire around 2 a.m., taking scores of people hostage just before closing time as people were downing their final drinks. The scene of the violence was Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, a popular gay nightspot where hundreds of were partying on Latin night early Sunday. “He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that,” she told the newspaper. His ex-wife told the Washington Post that he became mentally unstable. State records show he was briefly married to a woman named Sitora Yusufiy in 2009 they have since divorced. The media was also showing photos purportedly of Mateen – taken from a MySpace social media account – wearing New York Police T-shirts, the kind easily bought by tourists. State records show that he was a licensed Florida security guard, and also held a state firearms license. Lucie area, which is about 118 miles from Orlando. citizen who hails from the Fort Pierce and Port St. But a “physical surveillance,” records checks and two interviews with Mateen led to no charges, Hopper said.īorn in New York to parents from Afghanistan, Mateen is a U.S. Once in 2013, Mateen was alleged to have made “inflammatory comments” regarding terrorism. But he did say that Mateen had twice come under FBI scrutiny. At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Orlando FBI Special Agent in Charge Ron Hopper would not confirm media reports that Mateen “pledged” allegiance to the militant group. The FBI, which is spearheading the investigation, must now uncover what motivated Mateen - a state-registered firearm holder and security guard who lived in the Fort Pierce area - to unleash so much carnage.įrom the start, agents have suspected Mateen may have been at least inspired by notorious Islamic State terrorist group that has targeted gays, Christians and other groups while taking hold of large swaths of territory in the Middle East.Ī law-enforcement source told The Miami Herald that Mateen called 911 from the club to express support for Islamic State terrorist group. “We will not be defined by a hateful shooter.”įor law enforcement, the probe shifted into high gear on Sunday afternoon.
“This is probably the most difficult day in the history of Orlando,” the city’s mayor, Buddy Dyer, told reporters Sunday afternoon.