PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Omar Mateen bought the guns he used in the Orlando nightclub massacre at a Port St. Lucie dealer, licensed and legally, on June 4.
"An evil person came in here and they legally purchased two firearms from us, and if he hadn't purchased them from us, I'm sure he would have gotten them from another local gun store in the area," St. Lucie Shooting Center owner Ed Henson said Monday.
Mateen bough a Sig Sauer rifle and, a day later, a 9mm Glock pistol. Agents also found a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver in his vehicle.
Those guns were used to kill 49 people early Sunday morning at the popular gay nightclub Pulse Orlando.
"I wish he didn't have the license," Seddique Mateen, Omar Mateen's father, told Local 10 News. "I wish he didn't have the gun."
Seddique Mateen said Monday that he saw no sign of extremist behavior in his son, only a lack of ambition, content to work security guard posts.
But Omar Mateen's wife apparently did, telling agents who interviewed her Sunday that he had cased Pulse nightclub for the attack the week he bought the guns.
Last April, Noor Salman and Omar Mateen were at Disney World and Downtown Disney, which may have been a chance to case those venues, too.
It's unclear whether law enforcement considers Salman a suspect.
"I criticize him and I condemn him for doing such a horrible act," Seddique Mateen said. "I don't agree with him, and I don't forgive him."
Local 10 learned the raids at Omar Mateen's home and family homes give agents a wealth of electronic leads: A computer, a tablet and a camera. From the club, officials now have Omar Mateen's bloody cellphone.
Orlando is a huge focus for the media now -- even from around the world -- looking to understand the mass shooting that is now our nation's deadliest.
"It's kind of bizarre and crazy for foreigners that (the) United States has, like, guns for everyone," Moeko Nitohbe, with the Tokyo Broadcasting System, said.
