Orlando shooter's father attends Hillary Clinton event
08/09/2016
Sitting behind Hillary Clinton during her Kissimmee rally Monday, and in full view of the media, was Seddique Mateen, the father of Orlando mass shooter Omar Mateen. Wearing a bright red, Mercedes-logo cap, Mateen was spotted by WPTV NewsChannel 5's Tory Dunnan. She spoke to him briefly outside the event where Mateen seemed little interested in chatting. Later, she found him at a rest stop where Mateen became more talkative.
From Dunnan's report:
NewsChannel 5 asked Mateen what he was thinking about when Clinton spoke about the Orlando incident.
"We've been cooperating with the federal government, and that's about it," he said. "Thank you." Mateen didn't want to answer any other questions, but just hours later, we ran into him by chance at a rest stop on the way back to West Palm Beach. He wanted to do an interview and show us a sign he made for Clinton.
"Hillary Clinton is good for United States versus Donald Trump, who has no solutions," he said.
We asked what went into his decision to go to the event right near Orlando, where the Pulse Nightclub shooting happened.
"I spoke a lot about that and wish that my son joined the Army and fought ISIS. That would be much better," he said.
When questioned whether Clinton's campaign knew he was going to the event and sitting directly behind the presidential candidate, Mateen said, " It's a Democratic party, so everyone can join."
Dunnan tweeted this response from the Clinton campaign: Clinton campaign statement part I: "This rally was a 3,000-person, open-door event for the public. This individual wasn't invited as a guest. Part II: and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event.
Below is Dunnan's report.
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