FBI Twice Probed Orlando Gunman Cases were closed after interviews proved inconclusive By Devlin Barrett, Adam Entous and Alan Cullison
http://www.wsj.com/articles/orlando-gunman-was-twice-probed-by-fbi-1465761322?mod=trending_now_4
Omar Mateen, a U.S.-born son of Afghan immigrants, was already known to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which twice investigated him over hints of radical leanings before closing those cases as inconclusive.
Federal agents are now trying to piece together how the 29-year-old Mr. Mateen became the gunman police say is responsible for the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
The night of the Orlando nightclub attack, Mr. Mateen called emergency services and proclaimed allegiance to Islamic State. The FBI is probing the attack as a terrorism act.
Mr. Mateen’s call echoed FBI concerns about him in 2013, “when he made inflammatory remarks to co-workers alleging possible terrorist ties,” said Ronald Hopper, an FBI official in Orlando. The bureau, “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.”
What triggered the 2013 investigation, said officials briefed on it, were “wild” claims he made to co-workers about having family and friends in al Qaeda and Hezbollah, and connections to the Boston Marathon bombers. When FBI agents first questioned him, he didn’t admit to making the claims and didn’t have a full understanding of the terrorist groups, they said, suggesting he was making up his claims.
When FBI agents questioned him again, he admitted to making the statements, saying it was simply bluster and he hadn’t known what he was talking about, officials said. Those earlier claims have fueled doubts regarding Mr. Mateen’s assertion about acting on behalf of Islamic State.
“He seems to be looking for any opportunity to associate with the terrorist group du jour,” a senior U.S. official said Sunday. CONTINUE AT SITE
Comments are closed.
