Orlando shooter said US must stop Syria bombing, reveals 911 transcript
September 24, 2016 04:45
The gunman responsible for the worst mass shooting in US history told a police negotiator during a standoff at an Orlando nightclub that the United States needed to stop bombing Syria and Iraq, according to a transcript of
the phone conversation released on Friday.
Omar Mateen identified himself to a 911 operator as the shooter at the Pulse nightclub about a half hour after the massacre started and he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
"I want to let you know I'm in Orlando and I did the shooting," he said.
When a police negotiator called him back about a dozen minutes later, Mateen told the negotiator he needed to stop the US airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. A U led coalition has targeted Islamic State militants with airstrikes in those two countries.
"They are killing a lot of innocent people," said Mateen, a New York-born son of an Afghan immigrant. "What am I to do here when my people are getting killed over there? You get what I'm saying?"
Mateen also compared himself to Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, according to the transcripts. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when two bombs exploded at the marathon's finish line in 2013.
"My homeboy Tamerlan Tsarnaev did his thing on the Boston Marathon," Mateen said. "So, now it's my turn, OK?" Mateen told the negotiator that he had fasted and prayed all day since it was the Muslim holiday, Ramadan.
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