The Orlando shooter visited Saudi Arabia a year before he went on the FBI’s watch list, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.
Omar Mateen, who murdered 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday morning, had traveled to Saudi Arabia in two consecutive years, 2011 and 2012, said Saudi Interior Ministry security spokesman Major General Mansour Turki on Monday, the regional Khaleej Times reported.
Turki said Mateen visited for religious reasons, participating in the pilgrimage to Mecca for 10 days in March 2011 and then eight days the following March, according to the newspaper.
Despite the Interior Ministry tracking Mateen’s whereabouts, the newspaper reported that a U.S. official said the Saudis have not provided any evidence that Mateen made contact with known extremists during his visits. The official added that anyone thought to be a threat is kept under surveillance by Saudi authorities, although that doesn’t mean they have a handle on everyone with radical views or contacts.
Saudi Ambassador Abdullah Al-Saud, who serves as the country’s emissary in Washington, put out a statement Monday condemning the Orlando attacks “in the strongest terms,” sending the country’s “deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims and to the people of the United States.”
“We stand with the American people at this tragic time,” Al-Saud said. “We pray for the recovery and the healing of all those injured in the attack, and we will continue our work with the United States and our partners in the international community for an end to these senseless acts of violence and terror.”
