Gunman in Pulse nightclub shooting identified as Omar Mateen; 50 dead
By Daniel Dahm , Michelle Dendy
Posted: 4:03 AM, June 12, 2016Updated: 6:21 PM, June 12, 2016
ORLANDO, Fla. – Sen. Bill Nelson says that ISIS has taken credit for the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando and police say that the gunman called 911 declaring allegiance to the Islamic State.
Police said the gunman, identified as 29-year-old Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, opened fire early Sunday morning at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, killing 50 people and injuring at least 53 more in what is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
Mateen called 911 around the time of the attack to pledge his allegiance to ISIS and he mentioned the Boston bombers, according to the FBI.
News 6 was on scene Sunday afternoon as local and federal bomb squad personnel were entering Mateen’s Fort Pierce apartment. It’s not clear what they found. Mateen, an American citizen born in New York, has been on law enforcement radar since 2013.
Officials said Mateen made the 911 call more than 20 minutes into the attack and had legally purchased two of the firearms, a handgun and a long gun, used in the shooting within the last week in Florida.
Mateen had been previously investigated by the FBI as possibly having ties to Islamic extremism. The investigations didn’t find evidence to charge Mateen with anything, officials said.
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/several-injured-in-shooting-at-orlando-nightclub
