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ORLANDO. — The man who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Florida appears to have acted alone, without direction from Islamist militant groups he voiced sympathy for, authorities said as they investigated the worst mass shooting in modern US history.
Federal law enforcement officials said the 29-year-old gunman, Omar Mateen, who worked as a private security guard at a gated retirement community, seemed to have been largely inspired by radical ideology he was exposed to over the Internet.
President Barack Obama on Monday called Mateen, a US citizen born in New York to Afghan immigrant parents, an apparent example of “homegrown extremism.”
The streets leading up to Pulse nightclub in Orlando remained a barricaded crime scene yesterday.
Road closures began right outside the nearby trauma hospital, Orlando Health, where surgeons were due to brief reporters on the condition of the people wounded in Sunday’s shooting.
Mourners have laid flower bouquets and set up wreaths near the hospital entrance.
A flower bed behind the impromptu memorial was lined with Puerto Rican flags, recognising the heritage of many of the victims, along with a single American flag.
People who knew Mateen and public records painted a picture of him as a troubled loner who harboured a fierce temper and violent streak, as well as aspirations for a career in law enforcement.
Mateen was shot dead by police who stormed the nightclub before dawn on Sunday, ending a bloody three-hour siege that began when the killer burst into the venue and opened fire with an assault-style rifle and handgun.
The carnage unfolded during a Latin music night at the club, which was crowded with more than 300 patrons. Many of the 49 people killed were Hispanic, more than half of them of Puerto Rican origin. Fifty-three people were wounded. — Reuters.
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