Orlando gunman identified as Omar Mateen - CBSOmar Mateen: Orlando gay club shooter identified by police - US mediaPolice sources have identified the gunman in the mass shooting at a gay club in Florida as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, an American citizen whose parents are from Afghanistan, according to US media reports.
Authorities in Orlando said they were investigating the shooting, which killed at least 20 people and wounded 42 others, as an act of terrorism.
The gunman was killed in a shootout with armed officers at around 5am on Sunday morning, US time. He was armed with an assault-type rifle, a handgun and some sort of "suspicious device", police said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/omar-mateen-orlando-gay-club-shooter-identified-by-police-us-media-a7077936.htmlOmar Mateen: 5 Fast Facts You Need to KnowOmar Mir Seddique Mateen has been named as the gunman who killed as many as 20 people and wounded 40 others at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, CBS News reports.
He was later killed by police after taking hostages at the LGBT club.
Mateen, 29, is a U.S. citizen of Afghani descent from Port St. Lucie, Florida, according to CBS News. He has ties to radical Islamic ideology, CBS reports.
Port St. Lucie is about 125 miles away from Orlando.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Gunman Exchanged Fire With a Police Officer Outside the Club Before Going Inside & Taking HostagesThe gunman, Omar Mateen, was engaged in a shootout with police outside the night club at about 2 a.m., police said at a press conference. Mateen then entered the night club and took hostages.
“The officer engaged in a gun battle with that suspect. The suspect at some point went back inside the club and more shots were fired. This did turn into a hostage situation,” Orlando Police Chief John Mina said at a press conference.
Mateen was armed with an “assault-type” rifle, a handgun and a “suspicious device,” authorities said.
Management at Pulse took to Facebook to warn people to stay away. Everyone is being asked to stay out of the area.
The attack occurred during Latin Night at Pulse, the one of the largest gay clubs in Orlando.
Kenya Michaels was scheduled to perform at midnight and the shooting took place around 2 a.m. Michaels’ colleagues, who were also at Pulse, are OK, according to posts that were making the rounds on social media. Roxy Andrews posted on Facebook that she was in Tampa and was fine, and that Axel Andrews and Angelica Michelle Jones made it out OK.
Fans of Michaels were on Facebook, posting and requesting an update on the performer’s status. They were asking in response to her post about performing if she was safe. It was later determined that Michaels made it out safe also.
The nightclub was at full capacity when the shooting began. One person, who was at Pulse, posted on Twitter that he was just able to get out, but others were still inside when he fled.
Orlando Shooting: Videos From Pulse Nightclub Attack
Several people were shot at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The gunman has been killed. Watch videos from the scene here.
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2. He Was Killed by a SWAT Team in an Effort to Rescue HostagesMateen died at the scene after he was shot by police at about 5 a.m.. He had barricaded himself in the nightclub after opening fire. Witnesses reported that some of their friends were hiding in dressing rooms and bathrooms, trying to stay safe.
A video from the scene appears to show the moment the SWAT team engaged in a final gun battle with the suspect:
An officer was wounded during the shootout, but was saved by his Kevlar helmet, police said. More than 30 hostages were rescued from the club.
Mateen has no known criminal history, according to CBS News.
It is not clear if he was known to federal authorities prior to the attack.
3. The FBI Says They Are Investigating the Shooter’s Background & Possible Connections to Islamic TerrorismLocal FBI Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Ron Hopper said at the press conference that there are “suggestions” the gunman “may have leanings” toward Jihadist ideology. Hopper had been asked about whether the shooter was connected to radical Islamic terrorism.
Hopper said they can’t say definitively whether the gunmen is connected to that ideology. He said we’re looking into all angles right now.”
ISIS supporters and sympathizers on Twitter posted messages after the shooting, but there have been no official claims by the Islamic State terror organization.
READ: ‘ISIS’ Tweets Anti-Gay Messages After Orlando Shooting
Islamic State sympathizers on Twitter have begun to tweet anti-LGBT messages with the hashtag #Pulse following the shooting at the Orlando nightclub where 20 people were killed by gunman Omar Mateen.
Click here to read more
4. The Gunman Was Organized & Well-PreparedThe FBI says the gunman was “organized and well-prepared.” Police have not released further details about the plot or whether anyone else was involved.
Police have asked anyone with information about the shooting and the gunman to come forward.
“If you have some information, no matter how small you think it may be, that would relate back to today’s events, please share it with us,” Hopper said. “I would urge you to call the 1-800-CALL-FBI public access line, we have phones standing by to take any information or lead whatsoever.”
Hopper said they will be conducting interviews and a huge FBI presence will be seen in coming days.
The shooting comes one night after former Voice contestant Christina Grimmie was gunned down outside of Plaza Live, about four miles away from Pulse. The gunman in that shooting, Kevin Loibl, fatally shot himself, police said.
But police said the shootings are not connected.
5. Mateen’s Parents Are From Afghanistan & He Was Married in 2009Both of Mateen’s parents are originally from Afghanistan, according to CBS News.
Mateen was born in New York, NBC News reports.
He was married in 2009, public records show. It is not clear if he was still married at the time of the attack.
Mateen is a registered Democrat who has also lived in Fort Pierce, Florida, according to online records.
He was also a notary public in Florida, but his license, issued in 2008, expired in 2012, records show.
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