AhlulBayt News Agency - The father of the the Orlando mass shooter told reporters that he was sorry for his son's actions and does not forgive him.
“What he did was totally wrong, I don’t approve of him, what he did, as a father, I don’t forgive him,”, Seddigue Mateen said on Tuesday.
“I’m very sad and I’m very mad and angry why did he do that to the homeland (sic). Those people who died are our family; they got affected and the 52 people who got injured, they are our family,” he added.
The elder Mateen said the atrocity his son committed is completely inconsistent with his family’s religion and against what he taught them.
Armed with assault weapons, Mateen stormed the Pulse Club on Sunday, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others at the gay club, marking the worst ever mass shooting in US history. The suspect, identified by US media as an alleged Daesh sympathizer, was a US citizen of Afghan descent from Port St. Lucie, Florida.
The incident sparked fierce public debate and many US officials expressed their views on the massacre. Among the latest was Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders, who lashed out at those who blame Islam for the shooting.
/257