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Orlando Shooter’s Alleged Gay Lover Speaks Out: ‘He Did It For Revenge’

Screenshot/Univision

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Casey Harper Contributor
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An alleged former gay lover of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen says Mateen did the deed to get revenge on gay men who had “used” him, rather than out of allegiance to the Islamic State.

The lover, who was called only “Miguel” to protect his identity, told Univision that Mateen was “100 percent” gay and that he carried out the shooting to get revenge on Puerto Rican men. Miguel said Mateen had sex with two Puerto Rican men, one of whom later revealed he had HIV.

“I’ve cried like you have no idea,” Miguel said. “But the thing that makes me want to tell the truth is that he didn’t do it for terrorism. In my opinion he did it for revenge.”

Miguel said he met Mateen on the gay hookup app Grindr, and that they met up 15 to 20 times. Miguel said Mateen was a regular at Pulse, the gay night club Mateen shot up.

“He hate gay Puerto Ricans for all the stuff he did to him,” Miguel told Univision. “I believe this crazy horrible thing he did was for revenge.”

Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 more before being shot by police.

“He adored Latinos, gay Latinos, with brown skin — but he felt rejected,” Miguel said. “He felt used by them — there were moments in the Pulse nightclub that made him feel really bad. Guys used him. That really affected him.”

Despite Miguel’s theory, Mateen had clear links to terrorism. He called 911 during the attack and told the dispatcher he was an “Islamic soldier.” He also pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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