Omar Mateen Identified as Orlando Club Shooter
29-year-old Omar Mateen has been identified as the gunman in the Orlando gay nightlcub shooting that killed 50 and injured 53. According to TMZ, Mateen, a U.S. citizen from Port St. Lucie, Florida with Afghan parents, had a Florida security officers license and a state firearms license.
Orlando's police chief revealed that Mateen was armed with a AR-15-style assault rifle and a handgun in the attack, which has been deemed the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Authorities have also revealed that they believe Mateen is connected to a radical Islamic movement, but they are unsure if he was acting alone or if the incident was part of an organized attack.
After Mateen took hostages from a group of people hiding in a bathroom, a SWAT unit entered the club and engaged in what is being reported as a protracted gun battle. Mateen was killed in the exchange.
