The Orlando shooter had aspired to be a police officer, but was rejected from the police academy and had claimed he was not accepted because of his Muslim faith, according to a report published Wednesday.
Omar Mateen, the man who killed 49 people and injured 53 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, graduated from Indian River Community College in Florida with a degree in criminal justice technology in 2006.
For most of the next decade, Mateen worked for an international security company, G4S Secure Solutions. In 2015, he applied to a police academy at the school.
Mateen was turned away from the program. He responded by filing a formal complaint against the school. School officials did not state the reason for Mateen’s not being accepted, but issued a statement to ABC News Wednesday.
“This is a selective admission program, and he was not selected for admission,” college spokesman Robert Lane said. “He was offered the opportunity to appeal this admission decision, but opted not to appear for an appeal hearing.”
Despite missing his hearing, Mateen took his complaint to the state. In October 2015, Mateen filed a complaint before the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The agency referred him back to the academy.
