Orlando gunman demanded an end to US bombing
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ORLANDO gunman Omar Mateen spoke in Arabic to a 911 dispatcher, identified himself an Islamic soldier and demanded to a crisis negotiator that the US “stop bombing Syria and Iraq,” according to transcripts released by the FBI yesterday.
The partial transcripts were of three conversations Mateen had with police during the worst mass shooting in modern US history, in which 49 people died and dozens were wounded.
Those communications, along with Facebook posts Mateen made before and after the shooting, add to the public understanding of the final hours of his life.
The first call came more than a half hour after shots rang out, when Mateen told a 911 operator: “Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God,” referring to God in Arabic.
“I let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.”
Mateen’s name and the groups and people to whom he pledged allegiance were omitted from the excerpt. But the FBI has previously stated he pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of Islamic State.
Shortly after the call, Mateen had three conversations with crisis negotiators in which he identified himself as an Islamic soldier and told a negotiator to tell America to stop bombing Syria and Iraq and that is why he was “out here right now,” according to the excerpt.
The release came a day after tens of thousands of people held a candlelight vigil in Orlando for the 49 victims. The victims also were remembered at church services and at makeshift memorials throughout the city.
“As a community, it’s important that we gather together to show our support because only together can we move forward,” said Gabrielle Claire, a musician and Universal Orlando worker who says she knew three people who had died. She was holding a “Hugs for Healing” sign at the vigil and numerous strangers came up to embrace her.
“We don’t have to be afraid of holding each other. We don’t have to be afraid of saying to other people, ‘I’m here for you,’” she told reporters.
Meanwhile, hospital officials said four people remained critical yesterday, more than a week after they were wounded in the attack at the Pulse nightclub.
Orlando Regional Medical Center said 18 people injured at the club were still in hospital and three more operations were scheduled. The other 14 patients are all in a stable condition.
Armed with a semi-automatic weapon, Mateen went on a bloody rampage at the nightclub on June 12. He died in a hail of gunfire after police stormed the venue.
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that the top goal while intensifying pressure on Islamic State — the extremist group thought to have inspired Mateen — is to build a complete profile of him in order to help prevent another massacre like Orlando.
“As you can see from this investigation, we are going back and learning everything we can about this killer, about his contacts, people who may have known him or seen him. And we’re trying to build that profile so that we can move forward,” Lynch said.
Lynch will travel to Orlando today to meet investigators. She said a key goal of the investigation was to determine why Mateen targeted the gay community. The victims were predominantly gay and Hispanic since it was “Latin night” at Pulse.
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