Orlando Gunman Had Visited Club Before, Used Gay Dating Apps

Omar Mateen

As photos of Orlando gunman Omar Mateen spread across the news Monday, at least five people with ties to the LGBT community said they recognized him — either from previous nights at the Pulse nightclub or gay dating apps.

Four people who regularly visited the gay nightclub told the Orlando Sentinel that they had seen Mateen there before. One person said he remembered Mateen at the club as long as three years ago. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the 29-year-old went on a shooting rampage in the club where about 300 people had gathered for the weekly Latin night. Forty-nine people were killed, and 53 others were injured.

"Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent," Ty Smith told the Sentinel.

David Goldman / AP

Smith added that Mateen had talked about his father, wife, and child.

Kevin West, another regular at the club, told the Los Angeles Times that he had exchanged messages on and off with Mateen for the last year on dating app Jack'd. They never met in person, until West saw him outside the club about an hour before the shooting.

“He walked directly past me. I said, ‘Hey,’ and he turned and said, ‘Hey,’” and nodded his head, West told the Times. “I could tell by the eyes.”

A former security guard at the club told ABC News that she was sure she had thrown Mateen out before. Another regular at the club told the Canadian Press that Mateed had once pulled out a knife after taking offense at a joke, possibly about religion.

Pulse Orlando / Via Facebook: pulseorlando

Mateen appeared to regularly interacted with men over gay dating apps, one man told MSNBC. Cord Cedeno said he recognized Mateen's photo from Grindr.

"He was very creepy in his messages," Cedeno told MSNBC. "I blocked him immediately."

Cedeno added several of his friends had also seen Mateen on apps including Adam4Adam and Jack'd. Two of them had been in touch with the FBI about their interactions.

The owner of another gay club in Orlando told the New York Times that Mateen had tried to friend him on Facebook.

Following the reports about Mateen's presence on gay apps, CNN spoke with his ex-wife. Sitora Yusufiy had said in previous interviews that he was abusive during their short marriage and also made anti-gay comments.

"I don't know if he was gay," Yusufiy told CNN's Erin Burnett. "He did feel very strongly about homosexuality."

A former classmate told the Palm Beach Post that Mateen had asked him out on a date while they were in high school. The classmate, who did not provide his name, said he believed Mateen was gay.

"We went to a few gay bars with him, and I was not out at the time, so I declined his offer,” the classmate told the Post.

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