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FBI: Suspect Bragged About Ties To ‘Terrorist Organizations’

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Steve Guest Media Reporter
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FBI Special Agent Ron Hopper, who’s in charge of Orlando’s FBI office, says that the individual who attacked an Orlando nightclub Sunday morning bragged about “having ties to terrorist organizations.”

The shooter is reportedly Omar Mateen, a U.S. citizen from Port Saint Lucie, Fla., according to CBS News.

Hopper said, “The history that we know of this individual so far is that he may have made threats that he was tied to” islamic terror. (RELATED: 50 Dead, 53 Injured In Orlando Shooting — FBI Investigating Terror Ties)

In an interview on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends Sunday,” Hopper said, “There’s allegations that the individual has made threats in the past to having ties to terrorist organizations. However, those have not been confirmed or vetted so far. Obviously, we are in the initial stages of this investigation at this time.”

When asked where he got that information, Hopper said, “Unfortunately, I can’t divulge that information at this time because all these things are tied to the actual active investigation so we’re trying to be as clear and transparent as we can because we want the general public to feel as safe and secure as possible and that’s not something that I can share.”

UPDATE:

During a press conference later in the day, Hopper said, “We do have suggestions that that individual may have leanings towards that, that particular ideology [Islamic extremism]. But right now we can’t say definitively, so we’re still running everything around.”

According to NBC News, Mateen called 911 and pledged his allegiance to ISIS.

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