By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Omar Mateen, the man who killed more than 50 people at an Orlando nightclub, was investigated by the FBI twice for suspected radicalism.
Now federal investigators are trying to learn what motivated the 29-year-old son of Afghan parents, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Mateen proclaimed allegiance to ISIS when he called emergency services on the night of the attack.
The FBI was concerned about Mateen in 2013 “when he made inflammatory remarks to co-workers alleging possible terrorist ties,” said Ronald Hopper an FBI official in Orlando.
Hopper said the FBI “thoroughly investigated the matter, including interviews of witnesses, physical surveillance, and records checks,” he said, and “ultimately, we were unable to verify the substance of his comments and the investigation was closed.”
The FBI also investigated Mateen in 2014 after he allegedly had contact with a Florida man who traveled to Syria and carried out a suicide attack. Agents “determined that contact was minimal and did not constitute a substantive relationship or a threat at that time.”
