As far as I know, he was never on any "watch list" at all. He was interviewed by the FBI. People need to let go of this insane idea that we should just make the no fly list the no gun buy list so that we can move on to find a practical and equally as important, legal, solution to this problem.
As far as I know, he was never on any "watch list" at all. He was interviewed by the FBI. People need to let go of this insane idea that we should just make the no fly list the no gun buy list so that we can move on to find a practical and equally as important, legal, solution to this problem.
Orlando shooting: Omar Mateen celebrated 9/11 as a schoolboy, claim classmates
'Omar was saying some really rude stuff. Stuff like, 'That's what America deserves''
[FONT="]At a high school in Florida, students watched the horrors of September 11, 2001, unfold on live TV. When the second hijacked airliner slammed into the World Trade Center's south tower, the class watched in stunned disbelief. But one student, a classmate recalled, "started jumping up-and-down cheering on the terrorist."[/FONT]
[FONT="]That was sophomore Omar Mateen, according to one of the accounts from Martin County High School remembering 9/11 and the reaction by the student who, nearly 15 years later, would carry out the worst mass shooting in US history.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The recollections of Mateen's actions could not be independently verified, and the memories could be clouded by the years that have passed. But they appear to offer yet another stitch in the wider tapestry of Mateen's life and views before Sunday's rampage, which included his pledge of loyalty to the Islamic State during a call to police during the standoff
[/FONT]
[FONT="]In an interview, Robert Zirkle, then a freshman at the Martin County school, said he saw Mateen excited and making fun of how America was being attacked on 9/11. "He was making plane noises on the bus, acting like he was running into a building," Zirkle recalled. "I don't really know if he was doing it because he was being taught some of that stuff at home or just doing it for attention because he didn't have a lot of friends."[/FONT]
[FONT="]"Before 9/11 happened, we were pretty straight. We all rode the same bus. We weren't really close friends, but friends at least a little," he added. "After 9/11 happened, he started changing and acting different."[/FONT]
[FONT="]Hours after the carnage on Sunday in Orlando, several classmates from Mateen's school days at Martin County High School and Spectrum Alternative School began talking in a group chat on Facebook.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]One former student told Zirkle on Facebook that on 9/11, the students were watching the TV in class. On the group chat, the former student wrote that Mateen "stood up in class during the 9/11 attack and after the second plane hit the building he started jumping up-and-down cheering on the terrorist."[/FONT]
[FONT="]In a phone interview, a third classmate who did not want to be identified for fear of being bombarded by news media, said he remembered Mateen acting out in class when the towers were hit because both of them were sent to the dean's office at the same time for misbehaving.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"I was sleeping in class and woke up to see people jumping off buildings, so I started swearing and they sent me up," the student said. "But Omar was saying some really rude stuff. Stuff like, 'That's what America deserves.' That kind of thing. It wasn't right."[/FONT]
[FONT="]Both that student and Zirkle recalled Mateen being suspended or expelled from the school shortly after 9/11.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"He got bullied a lot," said the student who sat in the dean's office with Mateen, "It may have been because he was Muslim. But high school can be rough; people can pick on you just because of your name."[/FONT]
[FONT="]"They had to escort him out of the school," Zirkle said. "Other kids were trying to fight him. A couple days after, they had to take him off the bus."[/FONT]
[FONT="]"A few of my friends wanted to fight him because he kept doing it and saying crazy things," he added. "It's weird. He was a totally cool before 9/11, and then something changed."[/FONT]
[FONT="]In another later incident, Zirkle said Mateen told some of his friends in class that Osama bin Laden was his uncle, which started another fight. "They had to escort him out of the school then as well."[/FONT]
'Omar was saying some really rude stuff. Stuff like, 'That's what America deserves''
- William Wan and Brian Murphy
- 16 minutes ago
[FONT="]At a high school in Florida, students watched the horrors of September 11, 2001, unfold on live TV. When the second hijacked airliner slammed into the World Trade Center's south tower, the class watched in stunned disbelief. But one student, a classmate recalled, "started jumping up-and-down cheering on the terrorist."[/FONT]
[FONT="]That was sophomore Omar Mateen, according to one of the accounts from Martin County High School remembering 9/11 and the reaction by the student who, nearly 15 years later, would carry out the worst mass shooting in US history.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The recollections of Mateen's actions could not be independently verified, and the memories could be clouded by the years that have passed. But they appear to offer yet another stitch in the wider tapestry of Mateen's life and views before Sunday's rampage, which included his pledge of loyalty to the Islamic State during a call to police during the standoff
[/FONT]
[FONT="]In an interview, Robert Zirkle, then a freshman at the Martin County school, said he saw Mateen excited and making fun of how America was being attacked on 9/11. "He was making plane noises on the bus, acting like he was running into a building," Zirkle recalled. "I don't really know if he was doing it because he was being taught some of that stuff at home or just doing it for attention because he didn't have a lot of friends."[/FONT]
[FONT="]"Before 9/11 happened, we were pretty straight. We all rode the same bus. We weren't really close friends, but friends at least a little," he added. "After 9/11 happened, he started changing and acting different."[/FONT]
[FONT="]Hours after the carnage on Sunday in Orlando, several classmates from Mateen's school days at Martin County High School and Spectrum Alternative School began talking in a group chat on Facebook.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]One former student told Zirkle on Facebook that on 9/11, the students were watching the TV in class. On the group chat, the former student wrote that Mateen "stood up in class during the 9/11 attack and after the second plane hit the building he started jumping up-and-down cheering on the terrorist."[/FONT]
[FONT="]In a phone interview, a third classmate who did not want to be identified for fear of being bombarded by news media, said he remembered Mateen acting out in class when the towers were hit because both of them were sent to the dean's office at the same time for misbehaving.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"I was sleeping in class and woke up to see people jumping off buildings, so I started swearing and they sent me up," the student said. "But Omar was saying some really rude stuff. Stuff like, 'That's what America deserves.' That kind of thing. It wasn't right."[/FONT]
[FONT="]Both that student and Zirkle recalled Mateen being suspended or expelled from the school shortly after 9/11.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"He got bullied a lot," said the student who sat in the dean's office with Mateen, "It may have been because he was Muslim. But high school can be rough; people can pick on you just because of your name."[/FONT]
[FONT="]"They had to escort him out of the school," Zirkle said. "Other kids were trying to fight him. A couple days after, they had to take him off the bus."[/FONT]
[FONT="]"A few of my friends wanted to fight him because he kept doing it and saying crazy things," he added. "It's weird. He was a totally cool before 9/11, and then something changed."[/FONT]
[FONT="]In another later incident, Zirkle said Mateen told some of his friends in class that Osama bin Laden was his uncle, which started another fight. "They had to escort him out of the school then as well."[/FONT]
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na...ken-off-a-terrorist-1465772737-htmlstory.html
If this is correct, he was indeed on a watch list but still would not have prevented him from legally purchasing guns.
That's interesting. This BBC article says he was not. Wonder which is correct.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36513468
[FONT="]Alan Grayson claims AR-15s can fire ‘700 rounds in a minute’ after Orlando attack
[/FONT]
Thankfully I don't take any of these non-gun-owning idiots seriously.
[/FONT]
Thankfully I don't take any of these non-gun-owning idiots seriously.
[h=1]Orlando nightclub gunman 'scouted Walt Disney World as a potential target for his deadly massacre bringing along his wife - who did not stop attack that left 49 dead'[/h]
By CHRIS SPARGO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 21:56, 13 June 2016 | UPDATED: 01:01, 14 June 2016
The Orlando gunman considered making one of the biggest tourist sites in the world the site of his deadly massacre - Walt Disney World.
Omar Mateen and his wife Noor Zahi Salman visited the theme park in April claims a federal law enforcement source who said that Mateen was looking at Downtown Disney and the gay club Pulse.
There have been no charges filed against Salman and it is not clear if they took their 3-year-old son with them when they went to scope out the park.
Scroll down for videos
+4
New details: Omar Mateen considered carrying out his deadly massacre at Walt Disney World and scoped out the park in April with wife Noor Zahi Salman (couple above with their 3-year-old son)
+4
Happiest place on Earth: Disney World (Cinderella' Castle above) is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world
The law enforcement source who shared the news of a potential Disney attack with People learned the information after it was revealed to authorities by Salman while she was being questioned on Sunday.
Downtown Disney is billed as a 'eclectic mix of unique boutiques, one-of-a-kind eateries and jaw-dropping entertainment that will have you wondering where the day went.'
There is also no bag check or metal detector to get in, something Mateen needed to sneak by the AR-15-style assault rifle he bought just one week before the attack.
Walt Disney World has yet to comment on this report.
Mateen attempted to purchase military-grade body armor a few weeks before the attack but was denied by a local store.
Had he been able to secure that armor he could have prolonged his attack for even longer as the model he had been hoping to buy is at an 'even higher level than what ordinary police departments supply to their officers' according to investigators.
The other four parks at Disney World - Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot - would have been far more difficult for Mateen to enter as they have all installed metal detectors.
It is also being reported that Mateen had been spotted at Pulse multiple times by patrons, and would often sit in a corner drinking alone.
Ty Smith told the Orlando Sentinel that he had seen Mateen at least a dozen times at the gay club, and that on occasion he 'would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent.'
He also said that he did not talk much to Mateen but that he did tell him he had a wife and a son and would at times speak about his father.
He was in the area for several days before the attack according to a source who spoke with USA Today, suggesting he had carefully selected his target.
+4
Site: Mateen was also in Orlando for several days before the attack to carefully select his target claim investigators (Downtown Disney above)
+4
Emotiona: Jonthan Dalton breaks down as he places a flower on a makeshift memorial (above) in Orlando honoring two of his friends who died
.Forty nine people were killed and another 53 were injured early Sunday when Mateen, 29, opened fire at Pulse at little after 2am in what is now the deadliest mass-shooting in American history.
He was eventually shot dead by police following an hours-longs standoff during which he held hostages inside the club but made no demands.
Mateen had previously been investigated by the FBI on two occasions, first in 2013 when he told co-workers that he knew Boston Marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
He was the focus of another probe a year later over possible ties to Moner Mohammad Abusalha, who had grown up in nearby Vero Beach and became the first American suicide bomber in Syria, where he fought with the Nusra Front.
The Tsarnaev brothers came up again on Sunday night when Mateen called them his 'homeboys' during his call to 911 made approximately 30 minutes after he entered Pulse.
.
Read more:
.
- Omar Mateen considered carrying out his deadly massacre at Walt Disney World
- He and his wife Noor Zahi Salman reportedly visited the Downtown Disney section of the park in April to look at it as a potential target
- This was revealed by Salman while she was being questioned by federal authorities on Sunday
- There have been no charges filed against Salman
- Patrons at the gay club Pulse say they saw Mateen drinking there multiple times
- Mateen was also in Orlando for several days before the attack to carefully select his target claim investigators
By CHRIS SPARGO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 21:56, 13 June 2016 | UPDATED: 01:01, 14 June 2016
The Orlando gunman considered making one of the biggest tourist sites in the world the site of his deadly massacre - Walt Disney World.
Omar Mateen and his wife Noor Zahi Salman visited the theme park in April claims a federal law enforcement source who said that Mateen was looking at Downtown Disney and the gay club Pulse.
There have been no charges filed against Salman and it is not clear if they took their 3-year-old son with them when they went to scope out the park.
Scroll down for videos
+4
New details: Omar Mateen considered carrying out his deadly massacre at Walt Disney World and scoped out the park in April with wife Noor Zahi Salman (couple above with their 3-year-old son)
+4
Happiest place on Earth: Disney World (Cinderella' Castle above) is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world
The law enforcement source who shared the news of a potential Disney attack with People learned the information after it was revealed to authorities by Salman while she was being questioned on Sunday.
Downtown Disney is billed as a 'eclectic mix of unique boutiques, one-of-a-kind eateries and jaw-dropping entertainment that will have you wondering where the day went.'
There is also no bag check or metal detector to get in, something Mateen needed to sneak by the AR-15-style assault rifle he bought just one week before the attack.
Walt Disney World has yet to comment on this report.
Mateen attempted to purchase military-grade body armor a few weeks before the attack but was denied by a local store.
Had he been able to secure that armor he could have prolonged his attack for even longer as the model he had been hoping to buy is at an 'even higher level than what ordinary police departments supply to their officers' according to investigators.
The other four parks at Disney World - Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot - would have been far more difficult for Mateen to enter as they have all installed metal detectors.
It is also being reported that Mateen had been spotted at Pulse multiple times by patrons, and would often sit in a corner drinking alone.
Ty Smith told the Orlando Sentinel that he had seen Mateen at least a dozen times at the gay club, and that on occasion he 'would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent.'
He also said that he did not talk much to Mateen but that he did tell him he had a wife and a son and would at times speak about his father.
He was in the area for several days before the attack according to a source who spoke with USA Today, suggesting he had carefully selected his target.
+4
Site: Mateen was also in Orlando for several days before the attack to carefully select his target claim investigators (Downtown Disney above)
+4
Emotiona: Jonthan Dalton breaks down as he places a flower on a makeshift memorial (above) in Orlando honoring two of his friends who died
.Forty nine people were killed and another 53 were injured early Sunday when Mateen, 29, opened fire at Pulse at little after 2am in what is now the deadliest mass-shooting in American history.
He was eventually shot dead by police following an hours-longs standoff during which he held hostages inside the club but made no demands.
Mateen had previously been investigated by the FBI on two occasions, first in 2013 when he told co-workers that he knew Boston Marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
He was the focus of another probe a year later over possible ties to Moner Mohammad Abusalha, who had grown up in nearby Vero Beach and became the first American suicide bomber in Syria, where he fought with the Nusra Front.
The Tsarnaev brothers came up again on Sunday night when Mateen called them his 'homeboys' during his call to 911 made approximately 30 minutes after he entered Pulse.
.
Read more:
- Orlando Gunman Omar Mateen Scouted Disney World for Attacks : People.com
- Killer Omar Mateen visited Pulse club a dozen times before shooting, witnesses say - Orlando Sentinel
- Orlando killer may have scoped out other targets
.
Orlando shooter Omar Mateen was gay, former classmate says
Guesser so wrong again
Here is what the imbecile Guesser posted
"He planned this for months, when he was outraged at seeing 2 gays making out on the street in front of him and his child. That's what intolerance does to the severely mentally unstable. A normal straight person might be turned off by such a display, and then go on with their day. A Nutcase simmers, stews, and plots his revenge. That's why he chose this Gay Club."
Idiot, I was right, the guy was a mentally unstable, anti Gay Gun nut. Turns out he may have been a mentally unstable, self hating, anti gay gun nut, not some fierce ISIS fighter directed from abroad to kill American infidels, like a clueless moron like you believes. He should have never been allowed to legally purchase an assault weapon(Guesser nailed it again). The insane, mentally crazy idiot was such a fierce, loyal ISIS soldier, that he pledged allegiance to ISIS, the Boston Bombers, Hezbollah, and Al Queda. Of course Al Queda, Hezbollah, and ISIS are mortal enemies. I called it when I said this guy was a mentally unstable idiot. Dealing with a mentally unstable idiot like you, it's not hard to recognize. On to 43,000.
Guesser so wrong again
Here is what the imbecile Guesser posted
"He planned this for months, when he was outraged at seeing 2 gays making out on the street in front of him and his child. That's what intolerance does to the severely mentally unstable. A normal straight person might be turned off by such a display, and then go on with their day. A Nutcase simmers, stews, and plots his revenge. That's why he chose this Gay Club."
You are literally wrong every time you make a post here, imbecile.
[h=1]Orlando shooter was a regular at the gay nightclub he attacked, used multiple gay dating apps[/h]
He saw 2 gays kissing and then planned this for months!!!!
Ha ha ha...Guesser wrong, yet again.
Dude was making 911 calls during the shooting vowing his allegiance to ISIS.
Poor Guesser, does he EVER get tired of making a fool of himself?
Seriously dumbass, just go spew your politically correct hard line liberal bullshit somewhere will people will say you are right. There are people out there with just as much a fucked up view point as yourself.
Even vit knows this was terrorism, and now trying to spin some web of lies about it being a hate crime.
Dude was making 911 calls during the shooting vowing his allegiance to ISIS.
Poor Guesser, does he EVER get tired of making a fool of himself?
Seriously dumbass, just go spew your politically correct hard line liberal bullshit somewhere will people will say you are right. There are people out there with just as much a fucked up view point as yourself.
Even vit knows this was terrorism, and now trying to spin some web of lies about it being a hate crime.
I'm almost in tears at how stupid guesser now looks:
The ex-wife of Orlando mass killer Omar Mateen claimed Monday that she believed he was homosexual — as it was revealed that he frequented the gay nightclub where he staged the nation’s worst massacre in modern times
...
It’s the same guy,” Chris Callen, a drag queen who performs under the name Kristina McLaughlin, told the Canadian Press. “He’s been going to this bar for at least three years.”
Callen’s husband, Ty Smith, recalled seeing Mateen being escorted drunk from the club.
“Sometimes he . . . would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent,” he told the Orlando Sentinel.
At least four Pulse club-goers remembered seeing Mateen at least a dozen times in the past. But authorities said they had no further information when asked about the sightings on Monday. NBC reported that the FBI was looking into his alleged club visits.
“[He’d get] really, really drunk,” Smith told the Canadian Press. “He couldn’t drink when he was at home — around his wife, or family. His father was really strict . . . He used to bitch about it.”
The ex-wife of Orlando mass killer Omar Mateen claimed Monday that she believed he was homosexual — as it was revealed that he frequented the gay nightclub where he staged the nation’s worst massacre in modern times
...
It’s the same guy,” Chris Callen, a drag queen who performs under the name Kristina McLaughlin, told the Canadian Press. “He’s been going to this bar for at least three years.”
Callen’s husband, Ty Smith, recalled seeing Mateen being escorted drunk from the club.
“Sometimes he . . . would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent,” he told the Orlando Sentinel.
At least four Pulse club-goers remembered seeing Mateen at least a dozen times in the past. But authorities said they had no further information when asked about the sightings on Monday. NBC reported that the FBI was looking into his alleged club visits.
“[He’d get] really, really drunk,” Smith told the Canadian Press. “He couldn’t drink when he was at home — around his wife, or family. His father was really strict . . . He used to bitch about it.”
Who said it wasn't terrorism, you antisemitic, lying, racist, Islamaphobe? As usual, I nailed it. A sick, mentally unstable, anti gay, gun nut, who committed a targeted terrorist act hate crime, against LGBT's. He "pledged allegiance" to 4 different terrorist groups, 3 of which are mortal enemies. He was a mentally unstable, self radicalized nutcase. He could have pledged allegiance to Daffy Duck, for all the relevance his pledging of allegiance to ISIS meant. Of course it was a hate crime. Are you still imbecilic enough to question that? You don't have to answer, imbecile, the answer is obvious. But you are with equally idiotic morons down here, so you fit in perfectly with the majority. I'll gladly stand apart from idiots and dolts like you.
Ummmmmm.....it was a terrorist attack that was targeting gays.....obviously a self hating gay man. Why do you think he chose a gay club? Of course it's terrorism.....we know this but he obviously targeted gays. Is this even debatable?
bizarro world as usual down here. Right wingers are odd people.
bizarro world as usual down here. Right wingers are odd people.
hno: As usual, spot on post.
