Omar Mateen: Police Officially Name Gunman In Pulse Nightclub In Orlando – Who Is He? What Was His Motive?
The mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando has led to a lot of confusion and sadness, but a little bit of clarity is beginning to come forth. Omar Mateen has now been identified as the gunman in the shooting that has left 50 people dead and 53 wounded.
BREAKING: Orlando nightclub shooter identified as Omar Mateen of St. Lucie County, Florida: https://t.co/DCDa0WLU51 https://t.co/WNcF1P4DW4
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 12, 2016
The Independent has confirmed that police identified Omar Mateen as the gunman in the mass shooting, and he is being reported as a 30-year-old who is an American citizen whose parents are from Afghanistan.
UPDATE at 11:36 a.m. EST: Members of Mateen’s family have now been spoken to.
@GideonResnick Pretty sure most people who aren’t big on gay rights are still not in favor of shooting up nightclubs. This guy=despicable
— (((Dan))) (@danknapp76) June 12, 2016
Orlando gunman Omar Mateen was married and had a 3-year-old son, his father tells NBC News
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 12, 2016
UPDATE at 10:21 a.m. EST: Police have now confirmed there are not 20, but 50 casualties including the shooter. 53 others have been hospitalized.
UPDATE at 10:19 a.m. EST: Police are currently going through Mateen’s home checking out his belongings, computers, social media, and all items he owns.
UPDATE at 10:16 a.m. EST: Florida congressman Alan Grayson said, “It is no surprise that the attack took place where it did and when it did.” He said it is in the “nature of terrorism” and it is being classified as a “hate crime.”
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Local Orlando newscasts are saying that Mateen is 29 years of age.
Social media has started doing research on this man identified gunman, and it is known that he is from Port Saint Lucie, Florida. He was born in 1986. Some local news outlets are saying that he is from Fort Pierce, Florida.
@WF8_YT @thefinaIgoodbye Omar Mateen, yep, definitely your garden variety white guy, Christian, too, I bet. pic.twitter.com/lAp1n1fJCe
— (((Natus Liber))) (@natus_liber) June 12, 2016
A lot of information is still now known about the gunman, but it has simply been confirmed by police that he is “not from the local area.” There has been no word on his motive or if he knew anyone in the Pulse nightclub or what his reasoning may have been for targeting a gay nightclub on “Latin Night.”
With Mateen’s name now having been released by police, more information is coming forth with each passing moment.
#Orlando gay nightclub massacre gunman identified as Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, 29. pic.twitter.com/d4EMkwAPtW
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) June 12, 2016
There were initial reports of two shooters at the nightclub which started around 2 a.m. early on Sunday morning. After the situation started and the shots first rang out, Mateen was found to be the only gunman and he ended up holding around 30 others hostage in Pulse before SWAT forcefully entered and shot him.
Mateen did die at the scene around 5 a.m.
Police have not released any further information on Mateen, and there is still nothing known as to why he may have done this.
Law enforcement sources tell @cbsnews the Orlando gay club shooter Omar Mateen of Port Saint Lucie FL has no apparently criminal history.
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) June 12, 2016
42 people have been taken to area hospitals in Orlando with injuries sustained during the shooting, and authorities are calling for blood donors from around the area. Those 42 people are dealing with injuries of various degrees, and their full conditions are not yet known.
Mediate is reporting that Omar Mateen would have been able to legally buy weapons. There are some indications that he had “radical influences” toward Jihadist ideology.
Authorities are looking into anything in Mateen’s history and if there were any early influences on him and who he has been exposed to and where he may have recently traveled. Mediate is reporting that some reports state Mateen “came onto the fed’s radar three years ago,” but there is no indication as to why.
He did go into the club with weapons which included a device of some kind strapped to him. Reports have also come out that he had another suspicious device in his vehicle as well.
Nightclub shooter identified as Omar Saddiqui Mateen, two law enforcement officials say. https://t.co/FVgh1mhs1G pic.twitter.com/aupsLue5lf
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 12, 2016
There had been news going around on social media that a man by the name of Sam Hyde was confirmed as the shooter, but that has proven not to be true. Hyde is a comedian whose name and image are always passed around when mass shootings happen. Authorities had not identified the gunman at the time Hyde’s name was trending on social media, but that has since been ruled as a hoax.
What is known at this time is that at least 50 people are confirmed dead in the Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando and 53 have been injured. Omar Saddiqui Mateen has been identified as the suspected gunman in the shooting, and he was killed on the scene by police after a hostage situation which lasted around three hours.
[Photo via Pulse Orlando]
