Orlando Nightclub Shootg: Mass Casualti After Gunman Opens Fire Gay Club

Contents:

• MAN WHO SAYS HE WAS OMAR MATEEN'S GAY LOVER SPEAKS OUT
• WNS SAY ORLANDO SHOOTER AT GAY CLUBS ON A REGULAR BASIS
• ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: WHO WAS OMAR MATEEN?
• ‘IT’S MY FLORIDA TOO’: PULSE SHOOTG SURVIVOR BRANDON WOLF ON BEG BLACK, GAY AND THE ANTI-RON DESANTIS
• 50 AD, ISLAMIC TERRORISM TIE EYED ORLANDO GAY BAR SHOOTG
• WAS THE ORLANDO GUNMAN GAY? THE ANSWER CONTU TO ELU THE F.B.I.
• THE ORLANDO SHOOTER MAY HAVE BEEN GAY? THE GAY COMMUNY ISN’T SURPRISED
• ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: MASS CASUALTI AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE GAY CLUB
• ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB MASSACRE A HATE CRIME AND ACT OF TERROR, FBI SAYS

MAN WHO SAYS HE WAS OMAR MATEEN'S GAY LOVER SPEAKS OUT

But this week, the cy is also memorializg a years ago today, a gunman opened fire Pulse nightclub, a gay club Orlando, killg 49 people and woundg more than 50. So he equented Pulse, a beloved gay nightclub known for star-studd drag shows and bachata-sountracked “Lat Nights.

“What happened at Pulse was … kd of labeled as a gay issue, when realy wasn’t.

WNS SAY ORLANDO SHOOTER AT GAY CLUBS ON A REGULAR BASIS

But before “Pulse” me to mean “one of the adlit mass shootgs US history, one that primarily targeted people of lor at a gay nightclub, ” Pulse was synonymo wh home. ORLANDO -- A man who says he was Orlando shooter Omar Mateen's gay lover is speakg out followg the attack on Pulse nightclub that left 49 people ad, and dozens more an terview wh Univisn anchor Maria Elena Salas, the man -- who was lled "Miguel" to protect his inty -- said he first met Mateen on the gay datg app Grdr. Miguel said an terview wh Univisn that Mateen, who was killed by police durg the rampage on the Pulse nightclub early on June 12, was gay.

"He hate gay Puerto Rins for all the stuff he did to him, " Miguel said. "Miguel said that Mateen's wife knew he was gay, and that his father forced him to an arranged add that he and Mateen also talked about relign. Gay, trans, bisexual...

ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: WHO WAS OMAR MATEEN?

Addnally, other media outlets have heard several stori of Mateen poppg up and nversg wh men on gay datg Van Horn, 71, said Mateen was a "regular" at the popular Pulse Horn, a retired pharmacist, said he met Mateen once, and the younger man talked about his ex-wife. Asked about his son's sexual orientatn last week, Seddique Mir Mateen said he did not believe his son was gay.

"This to me suggts somebody that may have had sexual inty issu and may have actually been stgglg wh the ia that he himself was gay and that would add a different motive and a different perspective on the se, " O'Toole said. One man, so many Mateen opened fire at Pulse, a gay nightclub Orlando, early Sunday — leavg 49 people ad and dozens jured. — -- The man who killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub Orlando, Omar Mateen, was a regular patron of gay clubs Florida for years, club employe, acquatanc and former classmat told ABC News.

”FBI agents are hearg acunts of Omar Mateen’s prence at gay clubs gog back years. A former classmate at a police amy — who requted he not be intified — told ABC News that Mateen hung out wh him and others, equentg Florida gay bars while they were at the Indian River State College trag program, as far back as night, he said, Mateen asked him if he was gay. Employe and patrons at Pulse told ABC News that Mateen went to the bar on a regular Callen, a performer at the club, said Mateen “didn’t seem homophobic to me.

‘IT’S MY FLORIDA TOO’: PULSE SHOOTG SURVIVOR BRANDON WOLF ON BEG BLACK, GAY AND THE ANTI-RON DESANTIS

Another Florida man, Kev Wt, told ABC News’ Hoton affiliate, KTRK, that he was ntacted by Mateen on a gay datg app. What clubs are poppg and thgs of that sort and what are good plac to go, ” Wt purported behavr appears severely at odds wh how Mateen said he felt about gay people, acrdg to his ex-wife, Sora Yufiy, who was married to Mateen briefly 2009. He would exprs his anger towards [a] certa culture, homosexualy, bee ...

Islamic culture, is really not tolerated, homosexualy, and I know at the time he was tryg to get his life straight and follow his fah. I gus that created some nfn between that, and there was fely moments that he would exprs his tolerance to homosexuals, ” she said Yufiy said Mateen had told her that he ed to go out to night clubs “a lot, ” but never said they were gay clubs. “Do I thk he was gay?...

”Cas which reprsed homosexualy has been lked to extremism have been an tert for unterterrorism officials.

50 AD, ISLAMIC TERRORISM TIE EYED ORLANDO GAY BAR SHOOTG

Or do have to do wh the nflicted feelgs about homosexualy?

One n be, on the one hand, fightg agast the perhaps ner attractn of homosexualy and at the same time honorg the act by sayg he was a radil Islamist.

Media ptn, The BBC's Gordon Corera exam what we know about the attackerOmar Mateen was a US cizen who had been known to the FBI sce opened fire si a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida the early hours of Sunday, killg 49 people the adlit shootg morn US officials say the 29-year-old, who was killed by police, appeared to "have leangs towards" radil Islamist iology, although was not clear whether the attack was a se of domtic or ternatnal ma emergency 911 lls shortly beforehand which he reportedly stated his allegiance to Islamic State.

WAS THE ORLANDO GUNMAN GAY? THE ANSWER CONTU TO ELU THE F.B.I.

"But there are also reports Mateen ed gay datg apps and was a regular at the club where he rried out the Smh told the Orlando Sentel he had seen Mateen at least 12 tim at the Pulse, sayg he would sometim drk heavily, beg "loud and belligerent" source, RtersImage ptn, Friends and fay members embrace outsi the Orlando police headquartersAs qutns emerged about the gunman's history, FBI Special Agent Ron Hopper told reporters that Mateen had been terviewed by FBI officers twice 2013 followg flammatory ments to lleagu assertg ti to vtigatn end after officers were unable to substantiate the claims.

”Wolf had sought refuge Florida 15 years ago when he was done wh ral Oregon, the childhood home where he suffered embedd racism and homophobia on a daily basis.

THE ORLANDO SHOOTER MAY HAVE BEEN GAY? THE GAY COMMUNY ISN’T SURPRISED

Among his motivatns for wrg the book was to reclaim tersectnaly om DeSantis and others on the right who seek to hijack explas: “I wanted to give a human flavour to what tersectnaly actually looks and feels like and what feels like to experience racism and homophobia at the same time. Growg up a nservative majory whe town was difficult bee the same kid who would ll me the N-word on one day would ll me a homophobic slur on another day and I was nstantly navigatg the tersectns of those two thgs.

Last month DeSantis’s mpaign released an anti-LGBTQ+ vio assailg Tmp for his past support of gay and transgenr ments: “It is a sry time to be not jt LGBTQ but LGBTQ and Black this state and ultimately that’s the tent. -- The FBI is vtigatg reports that Orlando gunman Omar Mateen had been a regular at the gay nightclub he attacked and had ed gay datg apps, a U. A number of possible explanatns and motiv for the bloodbath that left 49 victims ad have emerged, wh Mateen profsg allegiance to the Islamic State group, his ex-wife sayg he was mentally ill, and his father suggtg he was driven by hatred of picture grew more plex as patrons of the Pulse me forward to say that they had seen the 29-year-old Amerin-born Mlim there a number of tim or that he had been g gay datg apps.

ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: MASS CASUALTI AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE GAY CLUB

While acknowledgg he didn't know Mateen well, Van Horn said: "I thk 's possible that he was tryg to al wh his ner mons, of tryg to get rid of his anger of homosexualy. " Asked if his son was gay, the Afghan immigrant replied: "No. "The elr Mateen said that apart om the time his son got angry a few months ago over seeg two men kissg, he never saw any anti-gay behavr om the past two years, the Islamic State has targeted gay men for ath keepg wh s radil terpretatn of Islam, throwg dozens of them om tall buildgs Iraq and Monday night, about a e om Pulse downtown Orlando, thoands gathered for a vigil to support the victims and survivors.

"It was a place that a young 20-year-old who wasn't openly gay felt safe for the first time, " said Cathleen Ds, now 36, who worked at Pulse her 20s. NEW YORK -- The gay, lbian and transgenr muny has seen vlence before, om Harvey Milk to Matthew Shepard, and an ever-lengtheng list of transgenr women.

Sunday's massacre at a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, grimly changed the equatn, stirrg munal fears and swiftly promptg tighter secury at gay pri events. This "is a tragic illtratn of the legimate safety fears that those our LGBT muny live wh every day, " said Mike Rawlg, the mayor of Dallas, where extra police were assigned to a neighborhood that is a hub of the lol gay muny. In a separate cint Sunday, a heavily armed man was arrted Southern California even as Mateen's attack was ongog, tellg police he was on his way to attack a gay pri Jam Wley, of Indiana, had asslt rifl, ammunn and chemils that uld be ed to make an explosive, acrdg to police, who said there was no evince of a nnectn to the Orlando massacre.

ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB MASSACRE A HATE CRIME AND ACT OF TERROR, FBI SAYS

Before Sunday, the most proment cints of vlence agast gays claimed one life at a time. The hight profile of the clud the murr of Milk, a pneerg gay polician San Francis 1978, and the 1998 murr of Shepard, a gay llege stunt Wyomg at the hands of two men who beat him to a a while he was tied to a fence.

"There have been a few prev attacks on gay nightclubs, but only one that ed a signifint number of aths. 31, 2013, about 750 people were celebratg New Year's Eve at Neighbours, a popular gay nightclub Seattle, when Mab Masmari poured gasole on a rpeted stairway and set ablaze. Robert Matenc, who works as a host at Neighbours, said the club rpond to the arson attack by addg extra secury guards durg large special events, and trag employe crowd 's attack stck a place that has long been thought of as a safe haven for the muny -- the gay nightclub.

"Nightclubs have always been sacred spac for queer people, plac to gather and glter away om the judgg glar of society, where we uld love and be loved for who we are and how we want to be, " wrote Pl Rshenbh, a clergyman and popular gay wrer, exprsg his heartbreak a lengthy, emotnal post on Facebook which he relled gog out dancg while at semary New many ci, vigils were planned at LGBT muny centers and other gatherg spots to memorate the victims New York Cy, LGBT people and their alli nverged on the Stonewall Inn Greenwich Village spontaneo reactn to the shootg. The Manhattan bar beme a natnal symbol of gay rights after a 1969 police raid led to vlent street ont of the red brick faça, Cameron Cano stood proudly wh a rabow flag draped over her shoulrs.