ORLANDO // Was he a mentally disturbed individual on a one-man mission of hate? Or was he, as ISIL claim, “one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America?”
Twenty-four hours after America’s worst mass shooting, in which the gunman and 49 other people died and 53 were wounded, police and FBI investigators are no closer to understanding what drove Omar Mateen, 29, to open fire in a Florida nightclub.
Relatives and acquaintances said Mateen, who was born in New York to Afghan parents, went to mosque four days a week but did not mix with other worshippers and expressed no radical opinions.
FBI director James Comey said terrorist groups from overseas may have influenced him. “There are strong indications of radicalisation … and of potential inspiration by foreign terrorist organisations.”
But president Barack Obama said there was no evidence to indicate Mateen had been directed from outside the US. Rather, he was the kind of home-grown terrorist that authorities have long feared, “inspired by various extremist information that was being distributed on the internet”.
Police revealed yesterday there had been a three-hour battle with the gunman at Pulse, a gay club in Orlando. It began as the club was closing at about 2am when Mateen exchanged shots with an off-duty police officer working at the club.
“At that time, we were able to save dozens and dozens of people,” said Orlando police chief John Mina. More officers arrived on the scene and the gunman retreated to a bathroom, where he took hostages.
Janiel Gonzalez, who had been inside the club, described scenes of mayhem as the gunman sprayed revellers with bullets. “It was like complete chaos, like a scene out of a movie. People were screaming ‘Help me, help me, I’m trapped!’”
In a telephone call to the police in the middle of his attack, Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIL. When he made comments about bomb vests and explosives, Mr Mina took the decision to send his officers into the club.
“We believed that further loss of life was imminent,” he said. “We knew that was the right thing to do and believe we prevented a future loss of life and saved many, many lives.”
Police used explosives and a BearCat armoured car to punch a hole in the wall of the club. Dozens more survivors surged out of the breach, but Mateen opened fire and was shot dead by police.
The killings have raised questions about US counter-terrorism strategy and gun laws. Mateen had been questioned twice by the FBI as a “person of interest” and had undergone background checks twice with his employer, the security firm G4S. Nevertheless, he was able to legally buy an assault rifle, a handgun and ammunition.
Yesterday, police had identified 48 of the 49 dead and began informing relatives. The mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer, said many more were saved by police action.
“We will not be defined by the act of a cowardly hater,” said the mayor. ”We will be defined by how we respond, how we treat each other.”
Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the US, denounced the shootings. “On behalf of the leadership and people of the UAE, our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends of the victims,” he said.
“We condemn the hate and fanaticism behind this unspeakable violence. We must all work together to promote tolerance and peace.”
Saudi Arabia confirmed yesterday that Mateen had made the Umrah pilgrimage there in 2011 and 2012 and he may also have visited the UAE in those years.
* Agence France-Presse
