Officials have named the man responsible for one of the deadliest shootings in modern U.S. history as Omar Mateen, 29, from Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) earlier told CNN that “there is some connection to ISIS.”
Mateen’s father suggests homophobia as a motive
Mateen’s father, Mir Seddique, said his son had a son as well. Seddique told NBC News his son, who is Muslim, was troubled after seeing too men kissing. The shooting, Seddique said, “had nothing to do with religion.”
“We are apologizing for the whole incident,” Seddique said.
Mateen had a license to carry a firearm
Mateen was a professional security officer who had a license to carry a firearm, according to BuzzFeed News. Orlando police said he legally purchased the AR-15 used in the attack last week.
Mateen has been on the FBI’s radar since 2013
His ex-wife described him as “not a stable person.”
“He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that,” she told The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity.
She said she met Mateen online about eight years ago, and she moved to Fort Pierce, Fla., in 2009 to marry him. She said she only stayed a few months due to the alleged violence, but according to the paper, they were not legally divorced until 2011.
He was an American citizen
Mateen was born in New York to parents who emigrated from Afghanistan. He reportedly changed his name in 2006 from Omar Mir Seddique to Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, according to NBC News.
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