The father of the man identified as killing 50 people this morning and injuring a further 53, has spoken out about his son's motivation for the crime.
Omar Mateen was a 29-year-old native of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Speaking to
NBC, Mateen’s father Mir Siddique, said the family was in shock by the crimes.
“We are saying we are apologising for the whole incident. We were not aware of the actions he was taking” he said.
“We are in shock like the whole of the country.
“This had nothing to do with religion.”
Omar Mateen, via MySpace
Mateen’s father believes the massacre was motivated by seeing two gay men kissing in Miami recently.
Mateen was not linked to any extremist groups although it is reported that he was being investigated for another crime.
Records show that Mateen had an active security officer and firearm licenses, and his family said he worked in security.
He was married in Port St. Lucie in 2009, and his family said he had a 3-year-old son.
"It's no coincidence that the attack took place where it did and when it did," said United States Representative Alan Grayson.
"It might be that we've seen the commission of an awful hate crime."
