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Orlando Gunman Told Police That U.S. Should ‘Stop Bombing’ Syria and Iraq Orlando Gunman Told Police That U.S. Should ‘Stop Bombing’ Syria and Iraq
(35 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — Omar Mateen, the gunman in this month’s massacre in an Orlando nightclub, told a crisis negotiator less than an hour after the attack began that America needed to “stop bombing Syria and Iraq” and he threatened more attacks in the coming days, according to an F. B. I account released Monday morning. WASHINGTON — Omar Mateen, the gunman in this month’s massacre in an Orlando nightclub, told a crisis negotiator less than an hour after the attack began that the United States needed to “stop bombing Syria and Iraq” and he threatened more attacks in the coming days, according to a partial F.B.I. account released Monday morning.
He also warned — falsely, it turned out — that there were bombs in a car outside the club and that “you people are gonna get it, and I’m gonna ignore it if they try to do anything stupid.” He warned — falsely, it turned out — that there were bombs in a car outside Pulse nightclub and explosives inside it, and that “you people are gonna get it, and I’m gonna ignore it if they try to do anything stupid.” In a series of calls between 2:35 a.m. and 3:24 a.m. on June 12, during a standoff with the police, Mr. Mateen also spoke in Arabic and claimed responsibility “in the name of God the merciful,” and linked his attack to the terrorist attacks last year in and around Paris.
In a series of calls between 2:35 a.m. and 3:24 a.m. during the rampage, Mr. Mateen also spoke in Arabic and claimed responsibility “in the name of God the merciful,” and linked his attack to the Islamic State and to the terrorist attacks last year in and around Paris.
The F.B.I.’s account of the emergency calls included no mention by Mr. Mateen of any hatred of gays or a desire to attack a gay nightclub in particular. The F.B.I. has been investigating the attack as a possible anti-gay hate crime, but the partial transcript offers nothing to back up that theory.
At a news conference in Orlando, Ronald Hopper, an assistant agent in charge of the bureau’s Tampa Division, said the gunman made 911 calls during the shooting in a “chilling, calm and deliberate manner.”At a news conference in Orlando, Ronald Hopper, an assistant agent in charge of the bureau’s Tampa Division, said the gunman made 911 calls during the shooting in a “chilling, calm and deliberate manner.”
In releasing parts of the written transcript, the F.B.I. decided to remove parts of the conversation in which Mr. Mateen was heard expressing his allegiance to the Islamic State and support for other extremist ideologies. The F.B.I.’s account of the emergency calls included no mention by Mr. Mateen of any hatred of gays or a desire to attack a gay nightclub in particular; the bureau has been investigating the attack as a possible anti-gay hate crime, but the material released on Monday offers nothing to back up that theory.
Justice Department officials said they believed that including those sections would risk giving a platform for the terrorist ideologies that seem to have inspired Mr. Mateen, and would force survivors of the attack to hear his rants anew. John Mina, Orlando’s police chief, deflected a question about whether any of the victims were hit by police bullets in the initial shootout with officers shortly after 2 a.m. Most of the 49 people killed and 53 wounded were shot in the first minutes of the rampage — just before, after, and possibly during that gun battle — before Mr. Mateen holed up in a bathroom with hostages.
“That’s part of the investigation, but here’s what I will tell you: Those killings are on the suspect,” Chief Mina said.
A nearly three-hour standoff followed that shootout, until law enforcement agencies stormed the building, killed the gunman and freed the hostages. Chief Mina and other officials vigorously defended the handling of the siege from criticism that they waited too long to go in, noting that throughout the lull, officers put themselves at great risk by going into the club to rescue people.
“I think there was this misconception that we didn’t do anything for three hours, and that’s absolutely not true,” he said.
He added that no shots were fired from the time Mr. Mateen retreated to a bathroom until the police began their assault. People who were trapped in that bathroom have said that the killer did shoot a few people after officers began using explosives and an armored vehicle to breach the outer wall of the building.
The F.B.I. made public only partial transcripts of Mr. Mateen’s calls on Monday, and none of the audio recordings. Though officials and shooting survivors have said publicly that in the calls, the gunman pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and its leader, the F.B.I. redacted those statements from the transcript, along with parts of the conversation in which Mr. Mateen voiced support for other extremist ideologies.
But that decision opens up department officials to charges that they are playing down elements of radical Islamist beliefs in the attack — a politically charged issue that Donald J. Trump and other Republicans have seized upon.But that decision opens up department officials to charges that they are playing down elements of radical Islamist beliefs in the attack — a politically charged issue that Donald J. Trump and other Republicans have seized upon.
The partial transcript adds another layer of detail to the horrific events of the June 12 rampage, as F.B.I. counterterrorism investigators and the local authorities in Orlando continue to try to piece together the gunman’s motivations and examine any help he may have received. “Selectively editing this transcript is preposterous,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said in a statement. “We know the shooter was a radical Islamist extremist inspired by ISIS. We also know he intentionally targeted the L.G.B.T. community. The administration should release the full, unredacted transcript so the public is clear-eyed about who did this, and why.”
Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, a Republican who has frequently criticized the Obama administration, said on Fox News that the limited release “doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“This is another example of not focusing on the evil here,” Mr. Scott added.
Agent Hopper said: “Part of the redacting is meant to not give credence to individuals who’ve done terrorist acts in the past. We’re not going to propagate their rhetoric, their violent rhetoric, and we see no value in putting those individuals’ names back out there.”
Justice Department officials said that they feared survivors could be harmed if they had to hear Mr. Mateen’s rants anew.
Agent Hopper said the F.B.I. would not release recordings of 911 calls from terrified people inside the club, including some who had been seriously wounded. “To expose that now would be excruciatingly painful to exploit them in that way,” he said.
The partial transcript adds another layer of detail to the horrific events of that morning, as F.B.I. counterterrorism investigators and the local authorities in Orlando continue to try to piece together the gunman’s motivations and examine any help he may have received.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch will visit Orlando on Tuesday to meet with the investigators.Attorney General Loretta Lynch will visit Orlando on Tuesday to meet with the investigators.
The F.B.I. has interviewed Mr. Mateen’s wife, Noor Zahi Salman, at length to determine whether she will face charges in the case. She has acknowledged that she suspected her husband might be planning an attack and was with him when he went to buy ammunition and visited the Pulse nightclub beforehand, but she has insisted to investigators that she tried to talk him out of doing anything, officials said.The F.B.I. has interviewed Mr. Mateen’s wife, Noor Zahi Salman, at length to determine whether she will face charges in the case. She has acknowledged that she suspected her husband might be planning an attack and was with him when he went to buy ammunition and visited the Pulse nightclub beforehand, but she has insisted to investigators that she tried to talk him out of doing anything, officials said.
Investigators continue to believe that Mr. Mateen was a “lone wolf” attacker who was apparently inspired by the ideologies of the Islamic State and other terrorist groups but was not directly in contact with any of them.Investigators continue to believe that Mr. Mateen was a “lone wolf” attacker who was apparently inspired by the ideologies of the Islamic State and other terrorist groups but was not directly in contact with any of them.
“We currently have no evidence that he was connected to an Islamic terrorist group, but radicalized domestically,” Mr. Hopper said at the news conference. “We currently have no evidence that he was connected to an Islamic terrorist group, but radicalized domestically,” Agent Hopper said at the news conference.
He appealed for patience with an investigation so complex that agents still have not finished processing the crime scene. They have collected more than 600 pieces of evidence, conducted more than 500 interviews, and received thousands of tips about Mr. Mateen, he said. The medical examiner said Monday that it had released Mr. Mateen’s body, but offered not other details.
“This investigation is one week and one day old,” Agent Hopper said, “and it may last months and even years.”