Omar Mateen, the man said responsible for the Pulse nightclub attack last night in Orlando, called 911 and pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State, according to officials.
Thus far, there has not been a claim of responsibility by the Islamic State on jihadi forums, although sympathizers have praised the attack.
BREAKING: Orlando shooter called 911 to pledge allegiance to ISIS, U.S. official says https://t.co/ebT3MFVKvi https://t.co/2JDkUuv5CH
— CNN (@CNN) June 12, 2016
Mateen was known to the FBI and had at one time been under investigation.
From The Daily Beast:
The senior law enforcement source reports that Mateen became a person of interest in 2013 and again in 2014. The Federal Bureau of Investigation at one point opened an investigation into Mateen but subsequently closed the case when it produced nothing that appeared to warrant further investigation.
“He’s a known quantity,” the source said. “He’s been on the radar before.”
The senior law enforcement source told The Daily Beast that Mateen was born in New York and was married for a time to a woman from New Jersey.
That woman told the Washington Post that he repeatedly abused her during their marraige, which lasted from April 2009 to July 2011.
“He was not a stable person,” the ex-wife said. “He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that.”
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