Mass Shooting In Orlando Probed As A Terrorist Investigation
Investigators are working to learn more about Omar Mateen, the man they say was the lone shooter, who was killed at the scene. NPR's Justice correspondent Carrie Johnson talks to David Greene.
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
And I'm David Greene in Orlando. We are covering the aftermath of the tragedy here - 49 people killed by a gunman early Sunday morning at a downtown nightclub. And let's turn now to NPR Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson, who has been following this investigation. And, Carrie, what's the latest this morning?
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: The FBI has the phone of the attacker, Omar Mateen. They're looking through it for leads and clues. They seem to indicate that he was radicalized online, and they're looking at whether anyone else may have helped him inside the U.S. or out. So far, no sign this plot was directed by anybody overseas, David.
GREENE: OK. And, Carrie, as we've been reporting this morning, some are saying that he had been at this nightclub before, which sort of makes things more interesting here. What do we know about that?
JOHNSON: News organizations in Florida and California have talked to people around the Pulse Nightclub, suggesting that Omar Mateen had visited there before and other folks who say he connected with them on some kind of gay dating app. Investigators are looking at this right now, David. But it's not clear whether he was making these connections, if he in fact did so, in order to case the place for a possible attack or for some other motive.
Investigators and the FBI director right now say, this guy appears to be very confused with strange affiliations that are inconsistent with different terrorist groups. And there may be a psychological health issue here going on as well.
GREENE: OK, so a lot of questions outstanding. We'll be hearing much more from you, I know. That's NPR's Carrie Johnson. Thanks so much, Carrie.
JOHNSON: Thank you, David.
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