E V A N S V I L L E C O U R I E R & P R E S S « Thursday, June 16, 2016 « 15A

NATION

By Holbrook Mohr and Mitch WeissAssociated Press

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Omar Mateen graduated from community college with a criminal justice degree, worked as a security guard and wanted to be a police officer.

But a po-lice acad-emy re-jected his application, prompting Mateen to com-plain that he was denied because of his Muslim faith.

More details about Ma-teen emerged Wednesday as investigators retraced his movements and tried to talk to anyone who came in contact with him over the last several years.

Mateen, a 29-year-old bodybuilder and devout Muslim, opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday, leaving 49 people dead and 53 wound-ed. Mateen was killed dur-ing the attack.

A number of possible motives and explanations

have surfaced, with Mateen calling 911 to profess alle-giance to the Islamic State group, his ex-wife saying he was mentally ill and his father suggesting he hated gays.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said Mateen was removed from an as-signment at the county’s courthouse in 2013 after he made inflammatory comments about women, Jews and a shooting at Fort Hood.

The FBI investigated Mateen over the comments and again in 2014 because of his ties to a Syrian sui-cide bomber from Florida but both cases were closed without the agency taking action.

Mateen graduated in 2006 from Indian River Community College with a degree in criminal jus-tice technology. In 2015, Mateen wanted to attend a police academy at In-dian River State College to become a police officer, but his application was denied.

“This is a selective ad-mission program, and he was not selected for admis-sion,” college spokesman Robert Lane said without

giving a specific reason for Mateen’s rejection.

On Oct. 19, 2015, Mateen complained to the Florida Department of Law En-forcement that he wasn’t accepted because he was Muslim, agency spokes-woman Gretl Plessinger said.

The department, which certifies police officers, re-ferred him back to the train-ing academy, she said.

The Associated Press reviewed his certificate of firearms proficiency and other documents he filed to the state agency.

They showed that on Aug. 16, 2015, his range score was 203 and his written exam score was 96. That was down from previous years — but still well above average.

The documents also showed Mateen passed a psychological evaluation in 2007 as part of his applica-tion to be a private security guard.

Florida records show Mateen was determined to be mentally and emo-tionally stable in Septem-ber 2007 so he could work for The Wackenhut Corp., later renamed G4S Secure Solutions.

Shooter claimed religion led to police academy rejection

By MARK KENNEDYAssociated Press

NEW YORK — Dozens of Broadway stars horrified by the Orlando nightclub shoot-ing have lent their voices to recording a new version of the iconic 1965 song “What the World Needs Now is Love,” with all proceeds going to help the LGBT Center of Central Florida.

The project is inspired by the 1985 “We Are the World” benefit for Africa.

It will include Audra McDonald, Idina Menzel, Wayne Brady, Sara Bareilles, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broder-ick, Kristen Bell, Joel Grey, Sean Hayes, Gloria Estefan, Carole King, Megan Hilty, Rosie O’Donnell, James Monroe Iglehart, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nathan Lane, Sutton

Foster, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessie Muel-ler, Billy Porter, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Alice Ripley, Tommy Tune and Whoopi Goldberg.

New “Hamilton” Tony Award winners Lin-Manuel Miranda and Renée Elise Goldsberry will also participate.

A 25-piece orchestra will accompany the singers in New York, as well as con-tributing voices in Los Angeles and Mi-ami.

The digital download of the Burt Bacharach song will be sold for $1.99 and be available Monday at Broadway Records’ website and on iTunes there-after.

The effort was dreamed up by Siri-usXM radio host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley.

Broadway stars to record song to benefit nightclub victims

By Mike SchneiderAssociated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. — Police offered stress counseling and debriefing Wednesday to the SWAT team and other officers who witnessed the nightclub carnage, as the FBI tried to reconstruct the killer’s movements and figure out what role his wife may have played in the plot.

A long procession of memori-als and funerals for the 49 killed in Sunday’s shooting rampage began, with drag queens and motorcyclists turning out to pay their respects at a visitation for

Javier Jorge-Reyes, a salesman, makeup artist and hair stylist.

The FBI said it is still gather-ing evidence at the Pulse and an-alyzing cellphone location data to piece together Omar Mateen’s activities leading up to the mas-sacre, while also interviewing people who had any dealings with him.

The FBI urged anyone with any information about the gun-man to contact the bureau.

“We need your help in devel-oping the most complete picture of what he did and why he did it,” FBI agent Ron Hopper said.

On Saturday night, hours be-fore the rampage, Mateen visited Disney Springs, an outdoor res-taurant, retail and entertainment complex at Walt Disney World, an official who was briefed on the case but insisted on ano-nymity to discuss the continuing

investigation told The Associ-ated Press.

The official said it is not clear what Mateen was up to.

The three-hour rampage at the gay nightclub began at 2 a.m. Sunday and ended with the 29-year-old American-born Muslim being killed by a police SWAT team.

Members of the SWAT team underwent a stress-management debriefing Wednesday, as hun-dreds of others involved in the response to the shooting have done, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said.

Further counseling is being made available.

“These are some of the brav-est toughest men I know,” Mina said. “No one can prepare you for what those officers encoun-tered that night. They stood toe-to-toe and went face-to-face

with a mass murderer, and I’m extremely proud of that.”

A key topic for investigators is how much Mateen’s Palestinian-American wife may have known about the plot.

An official who was briefed on the case but insisted on ano-nymity to discuss a continuing investigation said authorities believe 30-year-old U.S.-born Noor Salman knew ahead of time about the attack.

Investigators have spoken ex-tensively with her and are work-ing to establish whether she re-cently accompanied Mateen to the club, said a second official who was not authorized to dis-cuss the case publicly.

At a news conference Wednes-day, U.S. Attorney Lee Bentley repeatedly refused to say wheth-er charges might be brought against the wife or anyone else.

He said authorities are talk-ing to hundreds of people and in-vestigating everyone associated with Mateen, including family, friends and business associates.

Salman has been in seclusion for days.

Mateen called 911 during the attack to claim allegiance to the Islamic State group, but exactly what was going through his head could prove more complicated, with his ex-wife saying he was mentally ill, his father suggest-ing he hated gays, and some Pulse patrons reporting that he was a regular at the club and used gay dating apps.

The medical examiner began releasing bodies to families on Tuesday. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer offered victims’ families the opportunity to have the 49 victims buried together at a city cemetery.

Police offer stress counseling in Orlando aftermath

DAVID GOLDMAN / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Supporters stand outside the visitation for Pulse nightclub shooting victim Javier Jorge-Reyes on Wednesday in Orlando, Fla. Drag queens and motorcyclists turned out at a long procession to pay respects to Jorge-Reyes, a salesman, makeup artist and hair stylist. At the procession, Tiffany Clark recalled how Jorge-Reyes used to come cut her 7-year-old son JonJon’s hair. “My son doesn’t understand why he’s gone. My son has autism, and it’s hard to explain to a baby why they’re not here. … All he knows is love,” Clark said. Breaking down in tears, she said Jorge-Reyes was “very loving. Kind. Kindhearted.”

BOB O’NEAL / THE KEY WEST CITIZEN VIA AP

In this June 2003 photo, the Key West “Sea-to-Sea” Rainbow flag is stretched the entire length of Duval Street in Key West, Fla., during the island’s annual Pridefest celebration. A sec-tion of the 1.25-mile-long flag will be on display on Thursday during President Barack Obama’s visit to Orlando.

■■ FBI continues investigation into shooter’s motives

Omar Mateen

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