4:30 P.M. FBI and local police are wrapping the search of the home of Mateen's family in Port St. Lucie. They removed several boxes, along with a computer from the home at 937 SW Bayshore Boulevard. They also searched the three cars in the driveway.
4:22 P.M. In his first Facebook entry in December 2011, Moner Abusalha posts video of Imam calling for death of homosexuals. In 2015 FBI investigated connection between Abusalha, who lived in Vero Beach, and Omar Mateen, the Orlando shooter. Mateen lived about 30 minutes south of Abusalha - the first American suicide bomber in Syria.
3:29 P.M. In 2015, after Moner Abusalha became the first American suicide bomber in Syria, the FBI investigated Omar Mateen's connection to Abu-Salha.
Abu-Salha went to the Middle East, trained, and returned to the Treasure Coast, specifically Vero and fort Pierce, to recruit. The FBI says he didn’t recruit anyone, but it’s possible he did have contact with Mateen.
3:13 P.M. A fellow Afghan expatriate said Omar Mateen's father wasn't a radical.
“He’s obviously against Taliban and ISIS and all that,” said Qasim Tarin, who appeared on Seddique Mateen’s show and followed him on Facebook.
“I’ve known him for a long time,” said Tarin, who lives in California. “To his Facebook and all, he is absolutely against ISIS and Pakistanis and, of course, ISI intelligence.”
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence service has been accused of supporting terrorism.
He said Mateen had made a few trips to Pakistan and had complaints with the Afghan government, too.
2:44 P.M. Omar Mateen's father two years ago created the Florida corporation The Durand Jirga Inc. The name refers to a long-disputed Afghanistan/Pakistan border dispute dating to the late 1800s.
The Washington Post reports that, in one video, the elder Mateen praised the Taliban: "Our brothers in Waziristan, our warrior brothers in [the] Taliban movement and national Afghan Taliban are rising up," he said.
2:34 P.M. Omar Mateen's father, Seddique Mateen, announced his candidacy for president of Afghanistan in 2015. YouTube videos online. Not in English.
2:26 P.M. Omar Mateen's father, Seddique Mateen, created a company in March called the Provisional Government of Afghanistan Corp. The address of the company is on SW Bayshore Blvd., the same street where Matteen's family owns another home.
2:19 P.M. Orlando shooter Omar Mateen purchased a home at 937 S.W. Bayshore Blvd. in a 2013 distress sale, paying $95,000 for the Post St. Lucie property with a $76,000 loan.
2:12 P.M. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw confirms earlier reports that Orlando shooter held valid firearm permit.
1:56 P.M. The global security firm G4S, with offices in Jupiter, has confirmed that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen has worked for the company since 2007. Statement from G4S:
“We are shocked and saddened by the tragic event that occurred at the Orlando nightclub. We can confirm that Omar Mateen had been employed with G4S since September 10, 2007. We are cooperating fully with all law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, as they conduct their investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the friends, families and people affected by this unspeakable tragedy.”
1:28 p.m.: State records show a man named Omar Mateen is licensed as a security guard and also holds a firearms license. G4S, a global security firm with an office in Jupiter, listed an employee named Omar Mateen in a newsletter posted online. The company has not responded to requests to confirm whether its employee is the Orlando shooter.
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting
1:15 p.m.: Mateen's shooting rampage came on the heels of "Gay Days Orlando," a high-profile week of partying that draws LGBT men and women from across the U.S. The weeklong event wrapped up June 6. The father of Omar Mateen said his son had become angry a couple of months ago when he saw two men kissing on a Miami street.
Full coverage: Orlando shootings
12:27 p.m.: Omar Mateen bought the apartment at 2513 S. 17th St. in Fort Pierce with Mary Seddique in May 2009 for $32,000. His relationship to Mary Seddique is unknown. However, Seddique is the last name of Mateen's father and other family members.
12:21 p.m.: Mateen was born in New York. In 2006 he changed his name from Omar Mir Seddique to Omar Mir Seddigue Mateen, according to public records.
A registered Democrat, he voted in 2008 and again in 2014.
View a map of where the Pulse nightclub is in Orlando
Mateen married at least twice. His first marriage, to a woman born in Uzbekistan, ended in divorce in 2008. By 2013, he had remarried, according to records.
St. Lucie County records don’t show any sign of a criminal history, but he was given a traffic ticket in Palm Beach County in 2008 for making an improper right turn, records show. He paid a $135 fine for the ticket, records show.
A Fort Pierce apartment complex has been evacuated as officials clear an apartment that has ties to the man suspected of shooting more than 100 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando early Sunday.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Fort Pierce Police Department all have officers at the scene right now along South 17th Street.
Omar Mateen — the 29-year-old identified by multiple news reports as the person who shot more than 100 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, killing 50 — is connected to one of the two-story apartments, officials said.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara is at the scene. He said his department went to the apartment about 2:30 a.m.
This story will be updated.
About the Author
