Omar Mateen. (MySpace)
The FBI has released the full unredacted transcript of Omar Mateen’s 911 call made during the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting in an effort to be more transparent following criticism of the decision to remove references to ISIS and the Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, from the document.
In the 911 call, Mateen pledges allegiance to al-Baghdadi. There is no evidence that Mateen had any direct contact with ISIS and its leadership, but he is believed to have been radicalized domestically, the FBI says.
“The purpose of releasing the partial transcript of the shooter’s interaction with 911 operators was to provide transparency, while remaining sensitive to the interests of the surviving victims, their families, and the integrity of the ongoing investigation,” the FBI and Justice Department said in a joint statement. “We also did not want to provide the killer or terrorist organizations with a publicity platform for hateful propaganda. Unfortunately, the unreleased portions of the transcript that named the terrorist organizations and leaders have caused an unnecessary distraction from the hard work that the FBI and our law enforcement partners have been doing to investigate this heinous crime.
“As much of this information had been previously reported, we have re-issued the complete transcript to include these references in order to provide the highest level of transparency possible under the circumstances,” the statement said.
Transcripts of three additional calls made to police negotiators have also not been made public. Audio is also not being released at this time, the FBI says.
Mateen’s first call was made at 2:35 a.m. to a 911 operator while he was inside Pulse. The call lasted about 50 seconds, the FBI says.
The tag [said in Arabic] means the previous statement was said in Arabic, the FBI says.
You can read the uncensored transcript of Mateen’s first 911 call below:
Orlando Police Dispatcher: Emergency 911, this is being recorded.
Omar Mateen: In the name of God the Merciful, the beneficent [said in Arabic]
OD: What?
OM: Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [said in Arabic]. I wanna let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.
OD: What’s your name?
OM: My name is I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State.
OD: Ok, What’s your name?
OM: I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may God protect him [said in Arabic], on behalf of the Islamic State.
OD: Alright, where are you at?
OM: In Orlando.
OD: Where in Orlando?
[End of call.]
Mateen later made three calls to police negotiators. The transcripts of those calls have not been released, but a summary was made public by the FBI:
2:48 a.m.: First crisis negotiation call occurred lasting approximately nine minutes.
3:03 a.m.: Second crisis negotiation call occurred lasting approximately 16 minutes.
3:24 a.m.: Third crisis negotiation call occurred lasting approximately three minutes.
In these calls, the shooter, who identified himself as an Islamic soldier, told the crisis negotiator that he was the person who pledged his allegiance to [omitted], and told the negotiator to tell America to stop bombing Syria and Iraq and that is why he was “out here right now.” When the crisis negotiator asked the shooter what he had done, the shooter stated, “No, you already know what I did.” The shooter continued, stating, “There is some vehicle outside that has some bombs, just to let you know. You people are gonna get it, and I’m gonna ignite it if they try to do anything stupid.” Later in the call with the crisis negotiator, the shooter stated that he had a vest, and further described it as the kind they “used in France.” The shooter later stated, “In the next few days, you’re going to see more of this type of action going on.” The shooter hung up and multiple attempts to get in touch with him were unsuccessful.
He also called a local news station and texted his wife, Noor Zahi Salman.
