In the midst of his assault on an Orlando nightclub, gunman Omar Mateen identified himself as an "Islamic soldier'' and called on U.S. authorities to stop the bombing in Iraq and Syria, according to transcripts of the attacker's telephone contacts with negotiators and police released on Monday.
Asked by a negotiator to describe what he had done, Mateen offered an ominous warning to police.
"No, you already know what I did,'' he said. "There is some vehicle outside that has some bombs, just to let you know. You people are gonna get it, and I'm gonna ignite it if they try to do anything stupid.'' No explosives were found on the nightclub premises by authorities.
Mateen, 29, was killed when police stormed the gay nightclub Pulse after a three-hour standoff June 12, as part of an assault that left 49 dead and 53 wounded.
Authorities previously have said Omar Mateen made two calls to 911 during the attack, and that police called him back once. Mateen also made a "goodbye" call to a friend, called a TV station and posted on Facebook while holed up in the club.
Eighteen of the of the wounded remained hospitalized Monday. Four were in critical condition, Orlando Health said.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch will go to Orlando to meet investigators. Lynch said a key goal was to determine why Mateen apparently targeted the LGBTQ community. She declined to say if a federal grand jury was likely to charge Mateen's wife, Noor Salman, who officials say may have known her husband was planning the attack.
Investigators are trying to learn more not just about Mateen, but also about others who knew him, including members of the mosque he attended.
Mateen had been on the FBI radar prior to the Orlando tragedy. FBI Director James Comey has provided a history of the FBI's contacts with Mateen, which included a 10-month investigation of possible terror connections. The inquiry was prompted by provocative statements Mateen made to co-workers in 2013 while working as a security guard at a Florida courthouse.
Mateen drew the attention of agents in 2014 when he was identified as a suspected associate of American-born suicide bomber Moner Mohammad Abu Salha, who died in an attack in Syria. Investigators concluded that Mateen had no association of consequence with the bomber.
Story courtesy USA TODAY. Contributing: Rick Hampson
