The City of Orlando has released transcripts of the Pulse nightclub shooter’s calls to a Police crisis negotiator.
In one of the calls shortly before 3 am on the morning of the shooting, Omar Mateen tells the negotiator to “tell America to stop bombing Syria and Iraq.”
He also tells the negotiator there are vehicles outside the club with bombs that can “take out a whole city block, and at one point refers to one of the Boston Marathon bombers as “my homeboy”.
In one of the calls, Mateen says he’s wearing a vest: “what they used in France.” But when asked if it’s a bomb vest, he replies no.
Throughout the roughly 28-minutes on the phone, the crisis negotiator tried to get the gunman to come out.
This week the city of Orlando released dozens of 911 calls and other calls to emergency services made on the night of the shooting.
Media organizations will be back in court this afternoon to push for all 911 calls to be released.
WMFE is not a part of the lawsuit.