Hate-Crime, Gay Nightclub, Orlando, FL — [1]50

lornajarrettblanchard June 12, 2016

— >50 ABC News. “At Least 50 Dead in Orlando Gay Club Shooting…” 6-12-2016.

— 50 CNN. “Sources: Grand Jury to investigate Orlando shooter’s widow.” 6-16-2016.

Narrative Information

ABC News, June 12: “The massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub early this morning has been described as a “domestic terror incident,” with at least 50 dead and 53 injured, officials said, making it the worst mass shooting in U.S. history and the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

“The shooter has been identified by officials as Omar Mateen of St. Lucie County, Florida, a U.S.-born citizen with Afghani parents. After the shooting began, he called 911 to pledge his allegiance to ISIS, according to law enforcement officials….

“Mateen’s parents were born in Afghanistan, and he was “on the radar” of U.S. officials for some time, but was not the target of a specific investigation, law enforcement officials told ABC News.

“A police officer working at the club exchanged fire with Mateen outside of the club at 2:02 a.m., officials said at the news conference. Mateen then entered the club.

“It turned into a hostage situation shortly thereafter, when Mateen took hostages. He was armed with an assault rifle,[2] handgun and “some kind of device on him,” officials said.

“At approximately 5 a.m., the SWAT team made the decision to rescue the hostages, officials said. The shooter was killed in a gunfight with those officers. Eleven Orlando Police officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter, according to an FBI spokesman.

“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’s Premier Gay Night Club.”

“”This can be classified as a domestic terror incident,” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said at the news conference….

“Word of the situation spread shortly after 2 a.m., when Pulse Nightclub posted on its Facebook page, “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.”

“Police followed up by tweeting, “Shooting at Pulse Nightclub on S Orange. Multiple injuries. Stay away from area.”….

“Rep. Alan Grayson, of Florida’s 9th District, said during a news conference this morning that the attack was ideologically motivated. “It’s no coincidence the attack took place where it did and when it did,” he said in reference to the fact that Pulse was a gay nightclub….

“Later in the day, President Obama called the Pulse massacre “an act of terror and an act of hate.” He called Mateen “a person filled with hatred.”….” (ABC News (Caplan and Hayden). “At Least 50 Dead in Orlando Gay Club Shooting…” 6-12-2016.)

CNN, June 16: “Federal investigators digging for clues in the Orlando nightclub massacre are zeroing in on Noor Salman, the widow of gunman Omar Mateen. What did Salman know of his plans and what might she have done to stop him? Authorities have been trying to pin her down after she apparently gave conflicting statements about what she knew of his intentions in the hours before the attack. A U.S. attorney plans to bring evidence before a federal grand jury to determine whether charges will be brought, according to two law enforcement officials. The process could take some time, as investigators need to finish collecting evidence and establish a timeline for Mateen’s activities leading to Sunday’s attack at the gay club Pulse, in which 49 people were killed, the officials said….

“Salman told investigators that Mateen told her he had interest in carrying out a jihadist attack — but she denied knowing of any specific plans, according to two law enforcement officials. She initially denied that when Mateen left the house Saturday that she had any idea he was going to do something violent. But in subsequent statements, Salman conceded she had a suspicion he might be planning an attack, perhaps on Pulse, the officials said. According to one official, she knew “for a while” Mateen had thoughts of wanting to do something violent. He had been talking about it for months, if not years. According to the second official, Salman told investigators that on Saturday she said she tried to tell him not to commit violence. But she didn’t call police.

“Mateen and Salman had been married since 2011. They have a 3-year-old son and lived in Fort Pierce, about an hour from where the massacre — the deadliest shooting in U.S. history — occurred….

“Investigators believe Mateen made surveillance trips to the club and the Disney Springs shopping complex during Gay Days 2016, a citywide celebration, a law enforcement official said. Disney security officials told the FBI they believe he also visited Disney World on April 26 to conduct surveillance, the law enforcement official said.

“Salman went with her husband to Pulse and Disney Springs, where he scouted the places, a law enforcement official said. It’s unclear how much she knew about his intentions at that point.

“Salman has told investigators she was with her husband on at least one trip to buy ammunition, according to multiple law enforcement officials. When and where that occurred is unclear. Salman claims she didn’t know he was buying ammunition to kill people when she accompanied him, but such purchases were not unusual for him.

“CNN has reported that Mateen picked up a Sig Sauer rifle on June 9, four days after he purchased it from the St. Lucie Shooting Center. Records indicate that Mateen purchased ammunition from that store the same day, according to a law enforcement official. The owner of the shop, Ed Henson, told CNN’s Christopher Lett that Mateen visited the store on multiple occasions but he never saw Salman….

“A law enforcement official said the gunman increased his consumption of a variety of jihadist propaganda, such as beheading videos two weeks before the attack. Before that the source says his consumption was infrequent and he certainly wasn’t immersing himself in it. The official described Mateen as an “angry and violent man who in the last few weeks started watching ISIS videos.” A source said he was looking for any excuse to do something violent and he was a “boiling kettle.”

ABC News “The List of Orlando Nightclub Shooting Victims.” 6-13-2016:

Stanley Almodovar III, 23
Amanda Alvear, 25
Oscar A. Aracena-Montero, 26
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33
Antonio Davon Brown, 29
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25
Luis Daniel Conde, 39
Cory James Connell, 21
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22
Paul Terrell Henry, 41
Frank Hernandez, 27
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30
Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25
Kimberly Morris, 37
Akyra Murray, 18
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20
Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35
Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34
Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan, 24
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33
Martin Benitez Torres, 33
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37
Luis S. Vielma, 22
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31

Sources

ABC News (David Caplan and Michael Edison Hayden). “At Least 50 Dead in Orlando Gay Club Shooting, Suspect Pledged Allegiance to ISIS, Officials Say.” 6-16-2016. Accessed 6-12-2016 at: http://abcnews.go.com/US/multiple-injuries-shooting-orlando-nightclub-police/story?id=39789552

ABC News (Meghan Keneally, Morgan Winsor, Gillian Mohney). “The List of Orlando Nightclub Shooting Victims.” 6-13-2016. Accessed 6-16-2016 at: http://abcnews.go.com/US/orlando-nightclub-shooting-victims-named/story?id=39799005

Associated Press. “Correction: Nightclub Shooting-Florida story.” WQOW.com, Eau Claire, WI. 6-15-2016. Accessed 6-16-2016 at: http://www.wqow.com/story/32201656/correction-nightclub-shooting-florida-story

CNN (Pamela Brown, Evan Perez, Holly Yan, Joe Sterling). “Sources: Grand Jury to investigate Orlando shooter’s widow.” 6-16-2016. Accessed 6-16-2016 at: http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/orlando-shooter-omar-mateen/

Newsday. “All 49 Orlando Pulse shooting victims identified.” 6-13-2016. Accessed 6-16-2016 at: http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/all-49-orlando-pulse-club-shooting-victims-identified-1.11909464

[1] Shooter shot and killed 49 people before being shot and killed by police – bringing total number of deaths to 50,

[2] A Sig Sauer MCX. AP. “Correction: Nightclub Shooting-Florida story.” WQOW.com, Eau Claire, WI. 6-15-2016.