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However, gay men found themselves unable to contribute.
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In the aftermath of the shootings, many Orlando locals rushed to donate urgently needed blood. However, he obviously craved fame - he searched the internet for references to the shooting during the stand-off with police. Investigators later found nothing to link him to the groups and assumed he was radicalised over the internet. He told both he was carrying out the shooting on behalf of Muslom terrorist groups. Police did find evidence Mateen cheated on his wife with another woman.ĭuring his three hours inside Pulse, Mateen made phone calls to 911 and a local news channel. The investigators described the witnesses as ‘mistaken’. However, FBI investigators found no photographs, text messages, smartphone apps, pornography, or cell tower location data to back up those allegations. One man even claimed a two-month sexual relationship with the gunmen. Witnesses came forward to allege Mateen regularly communicated with gay men on hookup apps. One man said he went to gay bars with him and others claimed they saw him in Pulse previously. In the days after the Orlando nightclub shooting, various witnesses claimed that Omar Mateen was a closeted gay man. He did not, according to witnesses, use any homophobic slurs during the killings. After googling ‘downtown Orlando nightclubs’, the gunmen went between two clubs before making a last-minute decision to attack Pulse. However, later investigations indicated the choice was probably random. Now, one hate-filled man had snatched away that sense of freedom.īecause of the long history of hate crimes against LGBTIQ+ communities and venues, and the well-known intolerance of many Islamic regimes and religious leaders, most people initially assumed Omar Mateen targeted Pulse because of the sexuality of the club’s patrons. Throughout modern history, gay bars provided our communities with space to be themselves. Vulnerable and marginalised communities felt threatened in their community safe spaces. The incident deeply affected LGBTIQ+ people worldwide.