Tricia Adorno never had any problems in Woodland Condominium nor did she have any with Omar Mateen, who lived below her in Apartment 107 for years until she moved in August.
Adorno is a lesbian. She said her partner would visit the condominium, though she isn’t sure if Mateen knew the nature of their relationship.
“They were very sweet with me,” Adorno said of Mateen and his family.
Adorno stopped by the neighborhood Monday morning just to see what was going on. Authorities evacuated the buildings Sunday morning to search the premises, and then cleared the property before dawn Monday.
Adorno said she and Mateen would exchange “hellos” in the morning as he headed to work, dressed in his security uniform and his weapon. Her two children, now ages 10 and 11, played football with his son in the yard.
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Adorno was stunned when she heard her former neighbor was the gunman in the deadliest shooting in American history.
Residents in the Fort Pierce condominium were equally surprised when FBI agents knocked on their doors early Sunday morning.
“They just said something serious is going on and we have to evacuate the building,” Veronica Beers, a resident of the condominium, said.
The only visible remnants of the FBI’s investigation were a Toyota Camry with Marine Corps plates and stickers, parked in a guest spot. Red investigation tape shut the doors and trunk, and FBI papers could be seen sitting on the front seat of the car.
Though she and other residents had hoped to return to their homes by dinner time Sunday, Beers, 28, wound up spending the night in a hotel and returned home at 7 a.m.
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