The East Orlando Post reported Monday that Islamist killer Omar Mateen made contact with the owner of another gay nightclub in Orlando just days prior to the Pulse nightclub massacre.
The outlet reports:
Micah Bass, owner of the recently opened Revere Nightclub and The M Hotel, informed the East Orlando Post that Mateen had sent him a friend request on Facebook late last week. “With running The M and Revere, I constantly get requests from LGBT allies, performers, and potential guests who just want to have fun and spend time with family and friends.”
Earlier today, Bass notified the FBI of Mateen’s activity on social media and is reviewing security footage to see if the suspected shooter or any potential accomplices did, in fact, visit the property in the weeks leading up [to] Sunday’s tragedy at Pulse.
The Post also spoke with a law enforcement official who believes the contact indicates that Mateen was doing recon work before the shooting.
Veteran investigator and former Orlando law enforcement officer James Copenhaver observed that Mateen could have very well investigated several venues before selecting the Pulse nightclub to carry out what Florida Governor Rick Scott has called a “terrorist attack”:
“My training and experience suggest the shooter was scoping out LGBT clubs by friending club owners, club staff, and even customers of the LGBT clubs in the Orlando area on social media.” Copenhaver, who was a member of the FBI joint-task force during his time in law enforcement continued: “This suggests that he was doing his homework if you will, gathering intel to determine which club would have the most victims for maxium [sic] body count, during his terrorist attack.”
Read the story in its entirety at the East Orlando Post.