CAIRO – A Twitter account associated with Islamic State on Sunday posted a photo purported to be Omar Mateen, identified by U.S. authorities as the shooter who killed at least 50 people in a massacre at a gay nightclub inOrlando, Florida.”The man who carried out the Florida nightclub attack which killed 50 people and injured dozens,” the caption accompanying the photo read. There was no official Islamic State statement.It was not possible to verify whether the picture was in fact of Mateen. Other Twitter accounts linked to Islamist militancy also carried photos of the same individual, and Islamic State supporters posted messages of praise for the attack. Earlier Friday, former Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Senator Marco Rubio issued a statement saying that “Violent homegrown radicalization” is U.S. law enforcement’s greatest challenge. North State Journal will update this story as more information becomes available.
