A gun shop owner reported Omar Mateen to authorities before he committed mass murder at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, according to reports.
Robbie Abell is the co-owner of Lotus Gunworks, who found Mateen to be quite suspicious when he came into his store asking for body armor like the kind worn by law enforcement officials, according to the Wall Street Journal. Although Abell’s store doesn’t sell body armor, staff felt it was an odd request and one they don’t usually receive from a customer.
After staff told Mateen they couldn’t sell them what he was looking for, he then asked for bulk ammunition – another suspicious request. Once again, staff denied his request and refused to sell him anything else from their store. Lotus staff then proceeded to report the alarming incident to the FBI, according to reports.
The Daily Mail noted that Mateen had already been investigated by the FBI years earlier, but was still able to purchase ammunition, an AR-15 and a semi-automatic pistol from another local gun shop.
Abell told the Wall Street Journal that Mateen was walking around the store on his cell phone speaking to someone in Arabic and also texting.
Abell was also told the Journal that Mateen was odd, saying:
“The questions he was asking were not the normal questions a normal person would be asking… He just seemed very odd.”
Abell’s staff were on high alert after authorities told them to watch for suspicious activity in the area.
After Mateen was identified as the assailant of the attack at Pulse nightclub, Abell’s staff immediately reported their experience to the FBI.
Abell also told the WSJ:
“If something is suspicious, it’s our discretion. We are the gatekeeper.”
It was later discovered that Mateen bought his weaponry from St. Lucie Shooting Center just a few days before carrying out the attack in downtown Orlando. The owner of that shop, Ed Henson, is a retired NYPD officer.
He insisted he put Mateen through the standard background checks anyone who wishes to purchase firearms must go through before selling him an AR-15 and a semi-automatic pistol. Henson told reporters his store was truly sorry for the attack but said:
“I don’t make the laws.”
Watch his full statement below, via YouTube:
Feature Image Screenshot via Myspace/ABC News.
