Sunday 2 AM Orlando, Florida a terrible tragedy befell a gay nightclub called Pulse. Omar Mateen, aged 29, opened fire armed with an assault rifle and pistol. He killed 50 people as well as wounded 53 other people. During the shooting Mateen called 911 and told the police he pledged allegiance to ISIS and also mentioned the Boston Marathon bombers before he continued his rampage. He held the remaining clubgoers hostage for three hours until the police finally ended the standstill. Police used an armored vehicle to break into the club and used stun grenades to momentarily distract Mateen before they shot and killed him. Experts say that Mateen is responsible for the deadliest terrorist attack since 9/11.
In a sad revelation, it is revealed the gunman was interviewed by the FBI in 2013 and 2014 but was not found to be a threat, the FBI said. While ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack, ISIS sympathizers are praising the attack. It is currently unclear whether Mateen has had actual contact with ISIS but during a presidential address to the nation, Obama has said, “We know enough to say this was an act of terror and act of hate… This is an especially heartbreaking day for our friends who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,” he said.
Omar Mir Seddique Mateen was born in 1986 in New York. He later moved to Fort Pierce in Florida. The police evacuated 200 people from the surrounding area of his apartment fearing there might be explosives. Authorities are still conducting a search on his residence. In 2009, he was married to a woman from Uzbekistan but they divorced in 2011. His ex-wife has commented that she believes he was mentally unstable. Based on the information from people who personally knew him, authorities now suspect that he may have had a form of bipolar disorder which causes severe mood swings and can lead to an unstable train of thought.
The details from the survivors of the attack are some of the most heartbreaking you’ll hear. One man, Christopher Hansen said, “just saw bodies going down… just one after another after another.” He also described what happened after he fell to the ground and clawed his way across the blood stained floor, “I took my bandana off and shoved it in the hole in his back,” Hansen said, adding that he saw another woman who appeared to be shot in the arm. If nothing else, this is a tragic hate crime and represents the worst parts of humanity.
This is a photo of Mateen.
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