US terror attack: "Lone wolf" theory probed (TUES. UPDATE)

Investigators believe that alleged killer of 49 people in the attack on a gay nightclub in Florida was radicalized by Islamist propaganda, but have not yet found evidence he was part of a network.

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Tuesday morning update

"Lone wolf" theory probed

Orlando, AFP – The American gunman who launched a murderous assault on a gay nightclub in Orlando was radicalised by Islamist propaganda, officials said Monday, as they grappled with the worst terror attack on US soil since 9/11.

The Islamic State group claimed slain shooter Omar Mateen was acting as "one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America" when he attacked the Pulse club in the Florida resort city, an assault that ended when police stormed the venue.

But investigators are probing whether he was a jihadist on a mission or a vicious "lone wolf" inspired by Islamist propaganda to carry out what President Barack Obama dubbed "an act of terror and an act of hate."

"We see no indication that this was a plot directed from outside the United States, and we see no indication that he was part of any kind of network," FBI chief James Comey said, adding that investigators were looking into the possible role of anti-gay bigotry.

But he also said the FBI was "highly confident" Mateen had been "radicalised" while consuming online propaganda and that he had claimed allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a series of calls during the attack.

Monday afternoon update

Angry man

The major news agencies are slowly piecing together information about Omar Mateen, the man who allegedly killed and wounded more than 100 people in a gay nightclub early Sunday morning US time.

The Associated Press reports that the shooter was a body builder and a security guard, a religious man who attended the local mosque and wanted to become a police officer.

He was also bipolar, Mateen's ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, told reporters in Boulder, Colorado.

``He was mentally unstable and mentally ill,'' Yusufiy said. Although records show the couple didn't divorce for two years after the marriage, Yusiufiy said she was actually only with Mateen for four months because he was abusive. She said he would not let her speak to her family and that family members had to come and literally pull her out of his arms.

Fox News interviewed a colleague from work who confirmed that Mateen was an angry young man.

Daniel Gilroy, a former police officer, worked as a security officer with Mateen, said, "There was never a moment where he didn't have anger and rage. And he was always loud and cursing. And anytime a female or a black person came by, he would use horrible words."

AFP reports, however, that Imam Syed Shafeeq Rahman, the imam of the mosque where the Mateen worshipped had a very different impression of the man. He said that the suspect never gave any indication he was capable of such violence. He attended evening prayers three or four times a week at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, bringing his son who is about four or five years old, the mosque's imam said.

Terror returns to US shores with gay club massacre

Orlando, AFP –  US anti-terror strategy was under new scrutiny after a gunman previously cleared of jihadist ties launched a hate-fueled rampage in a Florida gay club that left 50 dead.

As the worst mass shooting in modern US history erupted Sunday, Orlando police blasted their way into the Pulse nightspot and shot the attacker dead.

Terrified survivors described how the gunman raked club-goers with bullets, prompting a police SWAT team to storm the venue.

The ISIS-linked news agency Amaq said, without providing evidence, that one of its fighters carried out the attack.

"We know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate," President Barack Obama said, as the FBI investigated the shooter.

Prominent US Muslim figures, Pope Francis and world leaders condemned the attack, which is being treated as the worst act of terror on US soil since September 11, 2001.

The FBI admitted that 29-year-old Omar Mateen had previously been investigated – but cleared – for ties to a US suicide bomber.

Special Agent Ronald Hopper also said Mateen was reported to have made a 911 call pledging allegiance to ISIS shortly before the massacre.

Mateen was born to Afghan parents in New York in 1986 and lived in Port St Lucie, Florida, about a two-hour drive from Orlando.

His father Mir Seddique told NBC News his son may have been motivated by homophobia, insisting: "This had nothing to do with religion."

The suspect's ex-wife, who divorced him in 2011, told reporters he had been violently abusive to her but was not especially religious.

But the FBI's Hopper told reporters Mateen's behaviour had raised red flags well before Sunday's attack.

In 2013, he was probed by the bureau after making inflammatory comments to co-workers that suggested terrorist ties.

Later, in 2014, he was again questioned by agents investigating his contacts with Moner Mohammad Abusalha, a fellow Floridian. Abusalha became notorious as the first US citizen to carry out a suicide bombing in Syria, and was reportedly a member of an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

"We determined the contact was minimal and did not constitute a substantive relationship or a threat at that time," Hopper said.

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