Orlando Shooting Suspect's Ties to New York
At least 50 people were killed and 53 others were injured in Orlando, Florida after a shooter attacked a gay nightclub there early Sunday morning.
Authorities said the suspected shooter, Omar Mateen, was born in New York. WNYCÂ has learned the family moved to Westbury on Long Island in the 1980's, possibly to flee Afghanistan's civil war.
A neighbor — who said she knew the Mateens at the time — said the parents were devoted to their children, even if they couldn't provide for Omar and his siblings.
"He could've been maybe 4 when he was here," she said. "And I remember the children were so hungry. I used to give them food because they didn't have enough money to buy food."
The neighbor spoke to WNYC on the condition of anonymity. She lives on the same street in Westbury, where WNYC has learned from public records that Omar Mateen's father had a listed address. The father's name is also listed at several addresses in Florida, including one in Port St. Lucie, the town where authorities said Mateen was from.
"[Omar] would cry all the time, he was very nervous," she said. "I remember [his mother] had a very hard time, and she used to slap him all the time because he never used to listen," she said.
The neighbor added that Omar Mateen's father moved to Port St. Lucie, Florida before Omar and his two sisters were grown. He often complained about the high cost of living in the New York area, but after moving told his neighbor he wanted to move back for unspecified reasons.
Omar Mateen's ties to the New York area go deeper than his childhood. Marriage records show Mateen married a woman named Sitora Yusufiy in 2009 before the couple divorced two years later.
Records also show a Sitora Yusufiy as living at addresses in Edison and Lawrenceville, New Jersey. NJ Advance Media reported Edison police and the FBI were present at the Edison address Sunday.
The Washington Post reported Yusufiy moved to Florida from New Jersey to be with Mateen, but she told the paper he was an abusive husband and she moved home after the two split.
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