FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Identity

A Man Claims He Was Omar Mateen's Lover and the Orlando Shooting Was 'Revenge'

The man—who allegedly met Omar Mateen on Grindr—said Mateen carried out the attack after learning that a Puerto Rican man he slept with was HIV positive.
​ Photos of Omar Mateen taken from his MySpace account.

In an interview with Univision Tuesday, a man claiming to have had an affair with Orlando shooter Omar Mateen said the attack Mateen carried out at Pulse nightclub was not terrorism but instead an "act of revenge," CBS News reports.

The interviewee, who disguised his identity and wished to be called Miguel, said that Mateen became incensed after learning that a Puerto Rican man he had slept with was HIV positive, and that the attack that left 49 people dead was meant as revenge on gay Latinos.

Advertisement

Mateen was '100 percent' gay, says a man who claims to have been Orlando shooter's lover. — Univision Noticias (@UniNoticias)June 22, 2016

Miguel alleged in the interview that he had met Mateen on the gay hookup app Grindr and the two carried out a "friends-with-benefits" relationship for about two months. Miguel said that Mateen's wife was aware of his sexuality and that Mateen had been involved in relationships with numerous other men.

While these claims have yet to be verified, and law enforcement officials told CBS News they could not confirm nor deny that they had met with Miguel, they did say that the FBI was actively investigating claims from a number of men and women who had come forward reporting to have had relationships with the gunman.

The attack at Pulse nightclub has been called an act of terrorism following the FBI's release of Mateen's 911 calls during the shooting, in which he pledges his allegiance to the Islamic State. But many believe that Mateen's sexual identity could have also been a factor in his motivation to attack a gay nightclub that he reportedly frequented.

Read: What It's Like to Be Gay and Muslim in America