A Florida gun store owner said Thursday that he had contacted the FBI about a month ago after Omar Mateen had attempted to purchase a large amount of ammunition and body armor from his store.
Robert Abell, who owns Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, said the man asked for 1,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as two different types of body armor. The store turned down the man’s request.
Abell said he became even more suspicious when he heard the man speaking to somebody on the phone in a foreign language.
The store later contacted the FBI, who were also investigating a group of Middle Eastern men who had purchased police gear from the same store. The FBI discovered that the men were simply security guards and dropped the matter.
Although the FBI asked about Mateen’s visit, Abell and his employees could not provide any security camera footage or identifying information, as no purchase was ever made.
Store employees realized that the man was Mateen after seeing images of the Orlando shooter in the wake of the massacre.
Spokesmen for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said they did not have any records of receiving calls from Lotus Gunworks, according to CNN.
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