ORLANDO, FLA: President Barack Obama arrived in Orlando on Thursday to meet with survivors of the massacre at a gay nightclub and relatives of the 49 people killed, as the US Senate inched closer to a vote on gun control measures.
Reprising the role of consoler in chief that he has played following periodic mass shootings since he took office in 2009, Obama flew to Orlando with Vice President Joe Biden, who met with first responders, survivors and victims’ families at the Amway Center, the home arena of the Orlando Magic NBA team.
Sunday’s attack, in which 53 people were also wounded, ranks as the worst mass shooting in modern US history.
“The president believes that there’s no more tangible way to show support than by travelling to the city where this horrific incident occurred,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One en route from Washington. “He’ll be standing with the citizens of Orlando during this difficult time, during this path of recovery.”
Gunman Omar Mateen, 29, a U.S. citizen born in New York to Afghan immigrants, pledged allegiance during his rampage at the Pulse nightclub to Daesh (Islamic State) and other militant groups.
Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack but U.S. officials have said they do not believe Mateen was assisted from abroad. CIA Director John Brennan told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday that the agency had “not been able to uncover any direct link” between Mateen, who was shot dead by police, and foreign militants.
Twenty-three of the wounded remained hospitalized, six of whom are in critical condition, according to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
During his attack, Mateen also posted messages on Facebook.
One message, apparently referring to air strikes by the United States and allies on Daesh, said: “You kill innocent women and children by doing us air strikes … now taste the Islamic State vengeance,” according to a letter to Facebook from the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security. The letter sought more information on Mateen’s history on the social media network.
Mateen had gone on a “spending spree” in the weeks leading up to the attack, CNN reported, citing a law enforcement source with knowledge of what Mateen’s wife has told police.
Mateen carried out the slaughter with an assault weapon and handgun that had been legally purchased although he had twice been investigated in the past by the FBI for possible connections with militant groups.