Orlando shooter's ex-wife: 'He beat me. He was violent and unstable'

Omar Mateen's ex-wife, who decided to remain anonymous, said that Mateen repeatedly beat her if she had not finished the laundry, among other things.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: JUNE 12, 2016 19:53
Gunman Omar Mateen who killed 50 people in Orlando gay nightclub. (photo credit: screenshot)
Gunman Omar Mateen who killed 50 people in Orlando gay nightclub.
(photo credit: screenshot)
The ex-wife of 29-year-old Omar Mateen, the shooter in Sunday's largest mass shooting in the history of the US, revealed that he was "violent and mentally unstable" according to The Washington Post.
His ex-wife, who decided to remain anonymous, said that Mateen repeatedly beat her if she had not finished the laundry, among other things.
The couple, who met online, wed and Mateen's ex-wife indicated that while at first their marriage seemed normal, soon it became increasingly clear that "he was not a stable person."
She said that upon discovering that Mateen had been regularly assaulting her, his ex-wife's family flew to their Fort Pierce, Florida home and extracted her, leaving behind all of her belongings.
"They literally saved my life," she commented of her parents' decision to remove her from the abusive situation.
Omar Mateen, the Fort Pierce resident, perpetrated a horrific attack on Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando that left 50 people dead, and 53 people wounded.
According to reports, he used an AR-15 assault rifle as well as a handgun.
US Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida, told reporters  that a congressional intelligence committee staff member told him there may be a possible connection to Islamic State in the deadly Florida massacre.
A senior FBI official said might have had leanings towards Islamic State militants. Officials called the rampage a "terrorism incident," but cautioned that the suspected Islamist connection required further investigation.
Reuters contributed to this report.