From childhood to mass shooting, what happened to Omar Mateen? | Video, photos
Editor's Note: This was originally published in June 2016. Reports are from Treasure Coast Newspapers staff and the USA TODAY Network.
In the early morning hours of June 12, a gunman walked into Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and injuring 53. Police identified the shooter as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man with ties to the Treasure Coast.
Mateen was killed in a shootout with police. His body was buried in Hialeah Gardens. An autopsy report revealed he died of multiple gunshot wounds and had no drugs or alcohol in his system.
911 calls
SHOOTER CALLED TREASURE COAST HOME
Fort Pierce condo
Mateen's last known address was at a condo in the 2500 block of South 17th Street in Fort Pierce.
Within hours of identifying the shooter, officials were at the Fort Pierce home where they checked for explosives and searched the home for evidence.
Port St. Lucie home
The FBI and Port St. Lucie police also investigated a home in the 500 block of Southwest Bayshore Boulevard in Port St. Lucie where the shooter's parents live.
Bags, boxes and electronics were removed from the home.
FAMILY TIES
Seddique Mateen
The shooter's father, Seddique Mateen, spoke with the media from his home several times following the news his son was identified as the Orlando shooter.
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Sitora Yusufiy
The shooter's ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, described him as mentally and emotionally unstable, and possibly bipolar. She said she was physically abused during their brief marriage.
Noor Salman
Mateen's wife told federal investigators she feared he was planning an attack. Salman also acknowledged driving him to Pulse at least once before he launched the assault, according to an offical who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Police helped escort a veiled woman, believed to be Salman, to and from the couple's condo June 13 after it was reportedly burglarized.
The FBI woouldn't discuss what they are learning from Salman, who lived with Mateen in a working-class neighborhood in Fort Pierce, where they cared for a young boy. While the boy has been described by neighbors as the couple's son, a birth certificate has not been located. Salman's whereabouts haven't been disclosed, and she has been publicly elusive.
In October, Salman spoke with the press and told her side of the story.
In April 2017 Salman pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding and abetting her husband, and obstruction of justice. Lawyers said during a hearing for Salman that jury summons will be sent out to up to 1,000 potential jurors in in anticipation of Salman's trial on charges of obstruction and aiding and abetting.
EMPLOYMENT ON THE TREASURE COAST
Mateen was a Martin Correctional Institution guard one decade ago, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. He was dismissed from a Martin prison job.
He also worked as a security guard at the St. Lucie County Courthouse through a contract with G4S Secure Solutions. The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said in 2013 that a courthouse supervisor requested Mateen be transferred from the courthouse because of inflammatory remarks he made alleging possible terrorist ties.
Still employed by G4S Security, he worked as a security guard at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie at least two days before the Orlando shooting. A former co-worker called Mateen "unhinged and unstable."
TROUBLE IN SCHOOL
Early years
The shooter's elementary and middle school records paint the Orlando nightclub shooter as a disruptive student who struggled with English.
His behavior — marked by constant outbursts and classroom insubordination — greatly contributed to his academic struggles, according to the documents.
He was disciplined 31 times between 1992 and 1999 for numerous disruptions, for striking a student and for disrespectful behavior during his time in St. Lucie County schools.
High school
The shooter's pattern of misbehavior did not end in 1999, when he transferred from St. Lucie County schools to Martin County in eighth grade.
In May 2001 , toward the end of Mateen's freshman year, he was removed from Martin County High School and sent to Spectrum Junior/Senior High School — the district's disciplinary campus.
A week before he was admitted into Spectrum, Mateen was suspended for three days for a fight, then five days for a second fight six days later, according to records.
Indian River State College
Mateen was rejected when he applied to attend the Treasure Coast Public Safety Training Complex at Indian River State College in 2015.
In his application, a 28-page personal-history questionnaire showed he marked "yes" that he'd had criminal records sealed and expunged and that he had been a suspect in a criminal investigation.
He received an Associate of Science degree in criminal justice technology from what was then Indian River Community College in 2006.
At Mateen's request, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office allowed him to ride around in a patrol car with an on-duty deputy to see what real-life law enforcement work was like.
After graduating, Mateen went on to attend Florida Corrections Academy on the Fort Pierce campus. Academy staff reprimanded Mateen twice for falling asleep in class, leaving campus without properly checking out, and making a comment to another student about bringing a gun to campus.
WHERE DID HE GET THE GUNS?
The shooter bought a handgun and a long gun at St. Lucie Shooting Center, a firearms business in St. Lucie West, about 10 days before the mass shooting at a nightclub early June 12, according to the firearms business owner.
He was properly licensed to carry guns.
He also tried to buy military-grade body armor and bulk ammunition from a Jensen Beach firearms store, and the encounter seemed suspicious, a store co-owner said.
POSSIBLE MOTIVES
TCPalm's Anthony Westbury asks was Mateen's horrendous attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando less about Islam and more about being a closeted homosexual?
Gil Smart says there is a gay scene on the Treasure Coast, albeit a small one. If pure hatred of the LGBT community was Mateen's motivation, he didn't have to travel two hours to carry out the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. But news reports suggest another kind of hatred might have motivated his actions — a hatred of the self.
MOSQUE
Less than 36 hours before Mateen opened fire on hundreds of people in the crowded Orlando nightclub, he was praying at a mosque in Fort Pierce.
In the days following the shooting, however, many who were there to pray were losing patience with the news media. Following afternoon prayers, many declined to comment, citing the nearly constant presence of local and national media and what they claimed were remarks taken out of context.
(Editor's Note: Reporters were given permission to take photos inside the mosque)
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THE AFTERMATH
Community reaction
The Treasure Coast community came together after news that the shooter grew up where we all live. Local blood banks saw a record number of volunteers, the St. Lucie Mets aided in Orlando relief efforts and many community members attended vigils and prayer services.
TCPalm's opinion staff offered advice about how to talk to our children about the Orlando shooting, heightening our awareness, and reminded us that though we've seen two terrorists come from the Treasure Coast, "This is not who we are."
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Victims
Forty-nine people lost their lives June 12. These are their stories.