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| Orlando gunman said 'I did the shooting' in police call | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A partial transcript of the calls between police negotiators and the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub has been released. | |
| Omar Mateen identified himself as an Islamic soldier and told the police "I'm in Orlando and I did the shootings" during the three-hour siege. | |
| He also mentioned the Boston bombings and France terror attacks during further calls to the police dispatcher. | |
| Mateen died in a shootout with police after authorities stormed the building. | |
| They said in a press conference on Monday that after initially exchanging fire with him when they arrived, there was then no additional gunfire during the three-hour stand-off. | |
| The FBI said Mateen, 29, spoke to a 911 dispatcher twice during three phone calls made about 30 minutes after he opened fire inside the building. | |
| Mateen allegedly made the calls while he held more than a dozen people hostage at the venue. | Mateen allegedly made the calls while he held more than a dozen people hostage at the venue. |
| The first call (see below) lasted about 50 seconds. | |
| Police: Emergency 911, this is being recorded. | |
| Mateen; In the name of God the Merciful, the beneficial [in Arabic] | |
| Police: What? | |
| Mateen: Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [in Arabic]. I let you know, I'm in Orlando and I did the shootings. | |
| Police: What's your name? | |
| Mateen: My name is I pledge of allegiance to [omitted]. | |
| Police: Ok, What's your name? | |
| Mateen: I pledge allegiance to [omitted] may God protect him [in Arabic], on behalf of [omitted]. | |
| Police: Alright, where are you at? | |
| Mateen: In Orlando. | |
| Police: Where in Orlando? | |
| [End of call]. | |
| Mateen then spoke with Orlando police's Crisis Negotiation Team three times after the first call. | |
| During these communications, Mateen identified himself as an "Islamic soldier". | |
| He told the negotiator to tell America to stop bombing Syria and Iraq and that was why he was "out here right now". | |
| "There is some vehicle outside that has some bombs, just to let you know," Mateen continued. "You people are gonna get it and I'm gonna ignite it if they try to do anything stupid." | |
| The gunman later said he had a vest, describing it as the kind they "used in France". He added that "In the next few days, you're going to see more of this type of action going on", before hanging up. | |
| The FBI said it would not release audio of Mateen's 911 calls out of respect for the victims and their families. | |
| At about 4:21 am, police removed an air conditioning unit from a Pulse dressing room window to help victims escape. | |
| Some of those rescued told police the shooter said he was going to put four vests with bombs on victims within 15 minutes, according to the FBI. | |
| Police found no vests or improvised explosive devices after searching Mateen's car. | |
| Members of a swat team stormed the building at about 5 am, exchanging fire with Mateen before he was reported down over radio communications. | |
| The release comes a day after thousands of people descended on downtown Orlando to remember the victims in a candlelight vigil. | The release comes a day after thousands of people descended on downtown Orlando to remember the victims in a candlelight vigil. |