The country is reeling from the worst mass shooting in history. Omar Mateen was 29-years-old, and he opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Mateen frequented Pulse and drank there. The owner of the Parliament hotel (a resort frequented by LGBT patrons) nearby said that he had seen Mateen before at his establishment as well:
“I’m not on gay dating apps or anything anymore, but he certainly looks familiar. So when I heard he frequented gay bars around here, it all made sense.”
Mateen’s father said that the attack had nothing to do with religion despite the reports that Omar Mateen said he was aligned with ISIS. Some insist that this attack was motivated by Islam. RWNJs were making a huge deal about Obama not saying “radical Islamic terrorism.”
Things like this can lead to more hate crimes, unfortunately. One of our own military members has committed a hateful act toward a mosque in North Carolina. An Army officer in Raeford, North Carolina made threats against a local Islamic Center during this month of Ramadan.
Ramadan is a holy event that lasts throughout the month of June for those of Islamic faith. The religious tradition around Ramadan includes fasting during the day and eating only at night.
The sheriff’s office in North Carolina found firearms, ammunition, and other weapons inside Russel Langford’s truck. Langford is in the Army Reserve and was planning to open fire at the mosque.
People at the mosque discovered bags of bacon in front of the doors one day earlier this month. This is an act of disrespect because Muslims do not eat pork. Langford returned later and threatened to blow up the mosque while waving a gun around. The police said that he even followed a man home from his afternoon prayers.
That night, Langford returned and tried to run over a group of people going in for evening prayers. Langford’s acts are being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Captain Eric Conner with the U.S. Army Reserves Command said:
“The U.S. Army Reserve Command is aware of the arrest of Major Russell Langford…While we cannot talk about this incident because it is under investigation, we can tell you actions like this are totally contradictory to the Army Values.”
https://youtu.be/urUCxgnwmeY
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
