Different Motives Emerge Over the Orlando Shooting

The FBI probes the motives of Omar Mateen, the shooter in the Orlando Massacre

Undated photos of the shooter. (Photo: The Quint/AP)

As America reels from shock over its deadliest shooting in modern history, which claimed 50 lives and left 53 other injured, US authorities are looking into the motives behind the shooting done by lone gunman Omar Mateen.

Radicalised Lone Wolf

“So far, 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 Director James Comey said.

He said Mateen was clearly “radicalised,” at least in part via the internet.

President Obama said on Tuesday that Omar was a ‘lone actor’ influenced by terrorist group ISIL, whose propaganda has spread in all directions, mostly due to internet connectivity.

Conflicted Sexuality

Previously reports quoted Mateen’s father as saying that Mateen had a fierce hatred toward homosexuals. However, this may not be the full picture.

Patrons of the Pulse Orlando, the gay nightclub which was the site of the shooting, say that Mateen was a regular visitor there, and had a gay dating app on his phone.

The Orlando Sentinel and other news organizations quoted regulars from Pulse who said they had seen Mateen there a number of times.

Jim Van Horn, 71, to AP said that he suspects that the massacre was less about Islamic extremism and more about a man conflicted about his sexuality.

(With inputs from PTI)