Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old U.S.-born citizen, has been identified as the suspect in today’s mass shooting that left at least 50 dead and more than 50 others wounded at the Pulse Orlando, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Officials said Mateen had two firearms licenses — a security officer license and a statewide firearms license -– both set to expire in September 2017. Mateen worked for the security firm G4S since 2007, the company said, adding that it is cooperating fully with law enforcement.
Orlando Killer Worked For Company Transporting Illegal Immigrants Inside US; Was Interviewed By FBI 3 Times
In a surprising discovery, the Palm Beach Post first reported that according to state records, Orlando shooter Omar Mateen – who as we reported earlier was licensed as a security guard and also holds a firearms license – was employed by the US subsidiary of G4S plc, a British multinational security services company, whose US-headquarters are located in Jupiter, Fla, and which also happens to be the world’s largest security company by revenue.
Shortly thereafter, G4S confirmed that Omar Mateen has worked for the company since 2007. This is the statement released from G4S:
“We are shocked and saddened by the tragic event that occurred at the Orlando nightclub. We can confirm that Omar Mateen had been employed with G4S since September 10, 2007. We are cooperating fully with all law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, as they conduct their investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the friends, families and people affected by this unspeakable tragedy.”
In other words, Mateen who according to preliminary reports, had been on a terrorist watchlist, and who still managed to obtain weapons thanks to his various licenses and permits just last week, was employed by one of the world’s largest security companies, where he may have had extensive clearances well above his pay grade, not to mention access to sophisticated military weapons and equipment.
In the United States, G4S plays a role in the detaining and transporting of undocumented people prior to their deportation or judicial review within the U.S. and along the border, as outlined in a G4S case study entitled, “The Bus No One Wants to Catch: The End of the Road for Illegal Immigrants.” As the sole transportation provider for U.S. Customs, G4S is also profiting from the militarization of infrastructure along the US Mexico border. According to their website: “Today, along the U.S.-Mexico border more than 600 G4S Custom Protection Officers operate more than 100 vehicles used to transport the huge number of people who have been captured illegally trying to cross the border into the US.”
But where it gets more disturbing is that as Judicial Watch reported several days ago, in a post titled, “DHS Quietly Moving, Releasing Vanloads Of Illegal Aliens Away From Border“, border patrol sources said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was quietly transporting illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to Phoenix and releasing them without proper processing or issuing court appearance documents. As a reminder, the government classifies them as Other Than Mexican (OTM) and this week around 35 were transferred 116 miles north from Tucson to a Phoenix bus station where they went their separate way. Judicial Watch was present when one of the white vans carrying a group of OTMs arrived at the Phoenix Greyhound station on Buckeye Road.
Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old U.S.-born citizen, has been identified as the suspect in today’s mass shooting that left at least 50 dead and more than 50 others wounded at the Pulse Orlando, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
In the midst of the attack, Mateen called 911 and pledged his allegiance to ISIS, according to two law enforcement officials.
ISIS supporters have cheered the massacre online and an ISIS propaganda group claimed, citing a “source,” that the shooter was an ISIS “fighter.” But there’s no evidence ISIS directed or had prior knowledge of the attack, terrorism observers told ABC News.
ISIS, which is based in Syria, has targeted gay men for beatings and murder in the Middle East and has filmed its members throwing some men suspected of being gay from the roofs of buildings.
Mateen, whose parents are from Afghanistan, was born in New York but lived in an apartment in Fort Pierce, Florida, more than 100 miles from Orlando, officials said. Officials said today he purchased two weapons, a handgun and “long gun,” just in the past few days. Law enforcement sources said the weapons used the attacker were a Glock 17 handgun and an AR-style semi-automatic rifle.
Officials said Mateen had two firearms licenses — a security officer license and a statewide firearms license -– both set to expire in September 2017. Mateen worked for the security firm G4S since 2007, the company said, adding that it is cooperating fully with law enforcement.
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CNN – 2 hours ago
Orlando, Florida (CNN) An American-born man who’d pledged allegiance to ISIS gunned down 50 people early Sunday at a gay nightclub in Orlando, the deadliest mass shooting in the United States and the nation’s worst terror attack since 9/11, authorities …
USA TODAY – 7 hours ago
According to Poma’s LinkedIn profile, she works for RB Management, a company that operates three establishments: Wildside Bar & Grille restaurants, Pacino’s Italian Ristorante and Pulse Orlando. Legler is the president of the Florida Theatrical …
Miami Herald – 9 hours ago
Pulse Orlando, the gay bar where early Sunday dozens of people were massacred — 50 slain, 53 wounded — is one of Central Florida’s most popular LGBT nightspots, according to several stunned former employees. “Pulse is like a family. Everybody who …
ABC News – 14 hours ago
There were about 320 people inside the club at the time of the shootings, officials said. Then at 5:53 a.m.Orlando police tweeted, “The shooter inside the nightclub is dead,” referring to Pulse Nightclub, which bills itself on its website as “Orlando …
Orlando Sentinel – 2 hours ago
The Federal Bureau of Investigation three times interviewed Omar Mateen for having alleged terrorist ties before he killed 50 people and injured 53 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando, the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. The names of several …
Daily Beast – 8 hours ago
Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, shot his way into Pulse nightclub at 2 a.m. Sunday morning with an assault rifle, Orlando police announced Sunday. Mateen reportedly took several patrons hiding in a bathroom hostage. A SWAT unit entered the club …
Washington Post – 2 hours ago
In a rampage that President Obama said the FBI was investigating as an act of terrorism, this gunman fired a barrage of bullets inside Pulse, a popular gay bar and dance club, forcing people to drop to the floor and rush out through a back entrance …
USA TODAY – 11 hours ago
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said another 53 people were wounded at Pulse Orlando, a gay clubjust south of downtown. “Tonight our community witnessed a horrific crime… that will have a lasting effect on our community,” a solemn Dyer said. “We will not …
NPR – 1 hour ago
… found far more victims than they expected, Orlando Police Chief John Mina says. Police now say at least 50 people have died, and at least 53 were injured. Police say they have not confirmed ifPulse was targeted specifically because it is a gay …
CBS News – 7 hours ago
CBS News has confirmed that the photo above is of Mateen, the man who authorities believe killed 50 and wounded 53 early Sunday, in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay night club in Orlando. Mateen’s father says he is in shock and that he wasn’t aware of …
BBC News – 11 hours ago
At least 20 people have been killed and some 42 injured in a shooting at a gay nightclub inOrlando, Florida, police say. Orlando Police said officers entered the Pulse Club about three hours after the shooting unfolded – and killed the gunman, who had …
Telegraph.co.uk – 10 hours ago
He said his son had recently lost his tempter after seeing a gay couple embracing in Miami, which he say may have led him to carry out the massacre at gay nightclub Pulse. “He saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid and he got very …
The Inquisitr – 12 hours ago
Just a day after the fatal shooting of singer Christina Grimmie after a concert in Orlando, we have more disturbing news coming in from the city. According to NBC News, a gunman reportedly opened fire at a gay bar called the Pulse Orlando Nightclub in …
Miami New Times – 7 hours ago
At least 50 people are dead, authorities have now confirmed, in an overnight mass shooting inside a packed gay nightclub in Orlando. At least 53 others were wounded and are in local hospitals. Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency and …
Los Angeles Times – 2 hours ago
The Islamic State-aligned gunman who attacked a packed gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., had previously been investigated for possible terror ties in 2013 and 2014, yet he was able to legally buy two guns within days of the attack, officials said Sunday …
TIME – 10 hours ago
A shooter armed with an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire at the crowded Pulse Orlando, a gay nightclub, at about 2 a.m., police said. At one point he left the club and exchanged shots with an officer outside, then he went back in and took …
CNN – 5 hours ago
It’s co-owner, Barbara Poma, opened Pulse on Orange Avenue in 2004 in memory of her brother John, who died of AIDS, with the idea that it would be a safe place, an educational and community venue and the “hottest gay nightclub in Orlando.” She saw her …
New York Daily News – 8 hours ago
The shooter, who was killed after a long standoff, was identified as Omar Sateen, 29, of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., which is about two hours south of Orlando. Sateen is believed to may have had “leanings” toward radical Islam, according to Special Agent …
The Guardian – 8 hours ago
The gunman behind a suspected terrorist attack that killed 50 people at an LGBT nightclub inOrlando is believed to be Omar Mateen, 29, from Florida, a US citizen of Afghan heritage. The gunman opened fire at the Pulse Club in the early hours of Sunday …
Daily Beast – 3 hours ago
… being identified as the gunman in the Orlando gay nightclub mass shooting, a senior law-enforcement source told The Daily Beast. Mateen killed 50 people and shot more than 100 in total at the Pulse dance club early Sunday morning, in the deadliest
Dallas Morning News (blog) – 4 hours ago
Alan Grayson, D-Fla., said during a midmorning news briefing, adding that it was “very likely” thatPulse Orlando was targeted because it’s a popular gay bar and dance club. “It’s not a coincidence that the attack took place where it did and when it …
Vox – 10 hours ago
A gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning, killing at least 50 people, the deadliest mass shooting in American history and an incident officials are investigating as an act of terrorism. Another 53 people have been taken …
New York Post – 6 hours ago
The suspect exchanged gunfire with an officer working at the gay club known as Pulse around 2 a.m., when more than 300 people were inside. The gunman then went back inside and took hostages, Police Chief John Mina said. Around 5 a.m., authorities …
New York Daily News – 15 hours ago
An ISIS terrorist armed with an assault-style rifle killed at least 50 people and injured 53 inside a popular Orlando gay club early Sunday in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The attacker, who died in a shootout with police following a …
New York Times – 13 hours ago
ORLANDO, Fla. — A gunman who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State opened fire in a crowdedgay nightclub here early Sunday in a shooting that left 50 dead and another 53 wounded. The gunman, identified as Omar Mateen, had been investigated twice by …
TIME – 8 hours ago
The gunman who opened fire at a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning left about 50 people dead and dozens more injured, flooding hospitals with those who were hurt. As federal and local authorities continued to investigate the attack …
Bustle – 5 hours ago
He wrote, “The brutal reality that jarred Orlando’s LGBT community, and the entire nation, is something that LGBT have always experienced, as gay and lesbian bars and clubs have been targeted in the past by those who harbor hate toward LGBT people.
NBCNews.com – 10 hours ago
Approximately 20 people are dead and scores wounded after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday morning, police said. Officials said a hostage situation developed after the gunman stormed the Pulse …
Mirror.co.uk – 8 hours ago
NBC News spoke to the killer’s dad who said he believed he carried out the killings because he saw two gaymen kissing in Miami two months ago. His dad said: “We are saying we are apologising for the whole incident. “We were not aware of the actions he …
PinkNews – 11 hours ago
Authorities have confirmed that a “mass casualty” shooting at a gay club in Orlando is being treated as a “terrorist incident” and has killed approximately 20 people. The city, best known for the Disney theme parks is home to gay venue, the Pulse Club.
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