Docs: Pulse gunman Omar Mateen taunted at job for being Muslim
ORLANDO, Fla. -- New documents show the gunman who killed 49 patrons at a Florida nightclub was repeatedly taunted for being Muslim in his job as a security guard at a Florida courthouse.
Records released Monday by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office show Omar Mateen claimed he was regularly called derogatory epithets for being Muslim by deputies and others at the St. Lucie Courthouse, where he worked as a contract guard.
According to records, Mateen wrote that he "faced a lot of harassment" by St. Lucie County Sheriff's deputies and G4S coworkers.
"When I started at the courthouse G4S Lt. David Torres told deputies that I'm a Muslim extremist and potential terrorist," he wrote.
Mateen then detailed some of the alleged taunting, which he said included an officer making a comment about his bulletproof vest saying: "Hope it's not a suicide vest."
In another instance, Mateen claimed an officer said: "Isn't it your prayer time, take your magic carpet and pray to your Allah and make sure it's in the east."
Also according to the records, Mateen told his bosses that in response to the taunting, he told co-workers he had ties to the Boston Marathon bombing suspects and the Fort Hood shooter.
That prompted an FBI investigation.
But the documents show the FBI didn't believe he was a terrorist, and an agent told a sheriff's office major that he didn't think Mateen "would go postal or anything like that."
In documents, Mateen also defended himself saying he is "1000% American."
"I'm mentally and physically 1000% percent against any of these terrorist organizations which are anti humanity and anti American," he wrote.
Law enforcement officials have said there is no doubt that Mateen was radicalized at some point before the Pulse nightclub attack, though there is no evidence that he was directed by any foreign terror groups.