By Tracy Connor and Erik Ortiz
The gunman who opened fire at a gay Florida nightclub early Sunday, shooting over 100 people, had called 911 moments before to pledge allegiance to the leader of ISIS, law enforcement sources told NBC News.
But as investigators try to determine if extremism motivated Omar Mateen, 29, to attack the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, his family believes he was pushed over the edge by pure hate against the LGBT community.
Various law enforcement officials have identified the shooter as Mateen, who was born in New York and lived in Port St. Lucie on Florida's eastern shores.
The attack, which claimed at least 50 lives, is considered the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. While authorities are still investigating what motivated the gunman, the shooting is being considered an act of terrorism.
Mateen, who was carrying a handgun and AR-15-type rifle, died after a SWAT team stormed the club, police said. The shooter, who worked in security, according to the family, had active security officer and firearms licenses, records show.
Records also show he had filed a petition for a name change in 2006 from Omar Mir Seddique to Omar Mir Seddique Mateen.
Because of his name and heritage, there were immediate questions about Mateen's possible ties to Islamic fundamentalism — but his father said it may have been a recent incident involving two men showing each other affection that set the gunman off.
"We were in Downtown Miami, Bayside, people were playing music. And he saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid and he got very angry," Mir Seddique, told NBC News on Sunday. "They were kissing each other and touching each other and he said, 'Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.' And then we were in the men's bathroom and men were kissing each other."
"We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident," Seddique said. "We weren't aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country."
Seddique added, "This had nothing to do with religion."
Driving the point home that religion was a consideration in the mind of investigators, at a 10:30 a.m. news conference Saturday, officials brought a member of the Muslim community to speak.
Police did not explicitly say Mateen was Muslim, but Islamic groups put out statements against the carnage.
"We condemn this monstrous attack and offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed or injured. The Muslim community joins our fellow Americans in repudiating anyone or any group that would claim to justify or excuse such an appalling act of violence," the Council on American-Islamic Relations Orlando Regional Coordinator Rasha Mubarak said in a statement.
Seddique said Mateen was a husband and father to a 3-year-old son. The family's home in Port St. Lucie is less than two hours south of Orlando.
He worked in security and had attended Indian River State College, where he got an associate's degree in criminal justice, his father added.
Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., whose district includes the area of the massacre, suggested to reporters that "more likely than not" the shooting spree at the nightclub was ideologically motivated.
"Let me put it this way," he said, "the nationality of family members is indicative."
The family's background was not immediately clear, but Grayson said Mateen was a U.S. citizen
Today's Orlando Killer Was NYPD Fan - This Tells Us What?
By Moon Of Alabama
June 11, 2016 "Information Clearing House" - "Moon Of Alabama" - Last night some deadbeat loser killed more than 50 people in a gay club in Orlando, Florida. It is the largest shooting massacre in the U.S. since Wounded Knee. According to his ex-wife the man, one Omar Mateen, used to beat her and was not religious.
Earlier Mateen took pictures of himself and posted those on Myspace. The pics are selfies and mostly not remarkable but in one of them he wears a shirt with the New York Police Department emblem on it.
This tells us what?
The guy was a follower of the NYPD?
He had pledged allegiance to the NYPD?
The NYPD radicalized him and taught him to hate gays?
There is currently a lot of speculation that the guy was also a fan of the Islamic State (ISIS) death cult. None of the pictures he posted would point into that direction. But it still may be the case.
But what does that really tell us?
Was his emotional relation to ISIS as strong as his emotional relation to the NYPD?
Do such assumed allegiances tell us anything at all?
See also
ISIS claims responsibility for Orlando mass shooting – affiliated agency: Amaq News, a Syrian news agency with close ties to the Islamic State, says the group is responsible for the attack on an Orlando gay club, which has killed 50 people, and left 53 injured.
Florida shooting: multiple gunshots heard in video: You can hear as many as 22 gunshots in this video provided to WESH 2 News
Shooting victims in Orlando gay club carried from the scene (GRAPHIC VIDEO)
Obama calls Orlando shooting 'an act of terror': , Obama said, "We know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. And as Americans, we are united in grief and in outrage, and in resolve to defend our people."
Omar Mateen, Terrorist Who Attacked Orlando Gay Club, Had Been Investigated by FBI: Mateen was a ‘known quantity’ to federal law enforcement before he killed 53 people in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
ISIS 'kill list' targets Palm Beach, Treasure Coast residents: Ex-FBI agent: A pro-Isis group has released a hit list with the names of more than 8,000 peoplemostly Americans. More than 600-people live in Florida, and one security expert believes that many of those targeted live in Palm Beach County and on the Treasure Coast.
Texas Lieutenant Governor slammed for tweet sent after Florida shooting: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows,” read the Bible verse Patrick sent out on his official Twitter account
Gays Must Die Says Speaker At Orlando Mosque - : The United West investigative team uncovered a story so disturbing Field Sutton of Channel 9 news in Orlando, FL broke the story on their newscast
The gunman who opened fire at a gay Florida nightclub early Sunday, shooting over 100 people, had called 911 moments before to pledge allegiance to the leader of ISIS, law enforcement sources told NBC News.
But as investigators try to determine if extremism motivated Omar Mateen, 29, to attack the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, his family believes he was pushed over the edge by pure hate against the LGBT community.
Various law enforcement officials have identified the shooter as Mateen, who was born in New York and lived in Port St. Lucie on Florida's eastern shores.
The attack, which claimed at least 50 lives, is considered the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. While authorities are still investigating what motivated the gunman, the shooting is being considered an act of terrorism.
Mateen, who was carrying a handgun and AR-15-type rifle, died after a SWAT team stormed the club, police said. The shooter, who worked in security, according to the family, had active security officer and firearms licenses, records show.
Records also show he had filed a petition for a name change in 2006 from Omar Mir Seddique to Omar Mir Seddique Mateen.
Because of his name and heritage, there were immediate questions about Mateen's possible ties to Islamic fundamentalism — but his father said it may have been a recent incident involving two men showing each other affection that set the gunman off.
"We were in Downtown Miami, Bayside, people were playing music. And he saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid and he got very angry," Mir Seddique, told NBC News on Sunday. "They were kissing each other and touching each other and he said, 'Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.' And then we were in the men's bathroom and men were kissing each other."
"We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident," Seddique said. "We weren't aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country."
Seddique added, "This had nothing to do with religion."
Driving the point home that religion was a consideration in the mind of investigators, at a 10:30 a.m. news conference Saturday, officials brought a member of the Muslim community to speak.
Police did not explicitly say Mateen was Muslim, but Islamic groups put out statements against the carnage.
"We condemn this monstrous attack and offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed or injured. The Muslim community joins our fellow Americans in repudiating anyone or any group that would claim to justify or excuse such an appalling act of violence," the Council on American-Islamic Relations Orlando Regional Coordinator Rasha Mubarak said in a statement.
Seddique said Mateen was a husband and father to a 3-year-old son. The family's home in Port St. Lucie is less than two hours south of Orlando.
He worked in security and had attended Indian River State College, where he got an associate's degree in criminal justice, his father added.
Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., whose district includes the area of the massacre, suggested to reporters that "more likely than not" the shooting spree at the nightclub was ideologically motivated.
"Let me put it this way," he said, "the nationality of family members is indicative."
The family's background was not immediately clear, but Grayson said Mateen was a U.S. citizen
Today's Orlando Killer Was NYPD Fan - This Tells Us What?
By Moon Of Alabama
June 11, 2016 "Information Clearing House" - "Moon Of Alabama" - Last night some deadbeat loser killed more than 50 people in a gay club in Orlando, Florida. It is the largest shooting massacre in the U.S. since Wounded Knee. According to his ex-wife the man, one Omar Mateen, used to beat her and was not religious.
Earlier Mateen took pictures of himself and posted those on Myspace. The pics are selfies and mostly not remarkable but in one of them he wears a shirt with the New York Police Department emblem on it.
This tells us what?
The guy was a follower of the NYPD?
He had pledged allegiance to the NYPD?
The NYPD radicalized him and taught him to hate gays?
There is currently a lot of speculation that the guy was also a fan of the Islamic State (ISIS) death cult. None of the pictures he posted would point into that direction. But it still may be the case.
But what does that really tell us?
Was his emotional relation to ISIS as strong as his emotional relation to the NYPD?
Do such assumed allegiances tell us anything at all?
See also
ISIS claims responsibility for Orlando mass shooting – affiliated agency: Amaq News, a Syrian news agency with close ties to the Islamic State, says the group is responsible for the attack on an Orlando gay club, which has killed 50 people, and left 53 injured.
Florida shooting: multiple gunshots heard in video: You can hear as many as 22 gunshots in this video provided to WESH 2 News
Shooting victims in Orlando gay club carried from the scene (GRAPHIC VIDEO)
Obama calls Orlando shooting 'an act of terror': , Obama said, "We know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. And as Americans, we are united in grief and in outrage, and in resolve to defend our people."
Omar Mateen, Terrorist Who Attacked Orlando Gay Club, Had Been Investigated by FBI: Mateen was a ‘known quantity’ to federal law enforcement before he killed 53 people in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
ISIS 'kill list' targets Palm Beach, Treasure Coast residents: Ex-FBI agent: A pro-Isis group has released a hit list with the names of more than 8,000 peoplemostly Americans. More than 600-people live in Florida, and one security expert believes that many of those targeted live in Palm Beach County and on the Treasure Coast.
Texas Lieutenant Governor slammed for tweet sent after Florida shooting: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows,” read the Bible verse Patrick sent out on his official Twitter account
Gays Must Die Says Speaker At Orlando Mosque - : The United West investigative team uncovered a story so disturbing Field Sutton of Channel 9 news in Orlando, FL broke the story on their newscast
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