Omar Siddiqui Mateen, I can think of a few four letter words that just about sum this ‘human’ up but I will refrain.

Rather let’s just focus on what we know, starting with how he was a massive fan of the selfie.

Look at these snaps below – yes, the classic mirror shot and wannabe swag face.

Let’s move on from that, and run through a few facts with the help of VICE:

Mateen is a US citizen born to Afghan parents. He was living in Port St. Lucie, a city about a two-hour drive southeast of Orlando on Florida’s Atlantic coast.

The Islamic State’s Amaq news agency said on Sunday afternoon that Mateen was a “fighter” for the militant group, but it’s still unclear whether the group was in direct contact with Mateen or if he was merely inspired by them.

Ron Hopper, the FBI agent overseeing the bureau’s Tampa field division, said Mateen was questioned twice in 2013 for comments he made at work about possible contacts with terrorists, and again in 2014 for possible ties to an American suicide bomber. Hopper said the contact was “minimal” and agents determined he was “not a threat at that time.” Despite his encounters with the FBI, Mateen legally purchased two of the weapons used in the attack in Florida in the past week, authorities said.

Mateen’s ex-wife told the Washington Post that he was abusive and mentally unstable. “He was not a stable person,” she said, speaking to the paper on the condition of anonymity. “He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that.” The couple married in 2009 but divorced in 2011. She said he worked as a guard at a facility for juvenile delinquents.

Many have asked how he came to have a gun licence in the first place, given the fact that the FBI did check on him a few years back. Here’s the Daily Beast:

Officials said Mateen had a gun license by virtue of his work as a security officer and that he legally purchased the weapons used in the attack.

Mateen had been employed since 2007 as a security guard with G4S, a large multinational security company that provides services to more than two-dozen juvenile-detention facilities in Florida…

A spokeswoman there directed all queries to G4S, which released the following statement about Mateen: “We are deeply shocked by this tragic event. We can confirm that Omar Mateen had been employed by G4S since September 10th, 2007. Mateen was off-duty at the time of the incident. He was employed at a gated retirement community in South Florida. Mateen underwent company screening and background checks when he was recruited in 2007 and the check revealed nothing of concern. His screening was repeated in 2013 with no findings”.

[sources:vice&thedailybeast]