Orlando shooter appears to be home-grown militant: Expert

New Delhi Bureau Chief of Thomson Reuters Douglas Busvine on Monday said Orlando shooter Omar Mateen appeared to be a home-grown militant, adding that the investigators were not been able to find any evidence of direct contact between him and the international Jihad group.

"He (Omar Mateen) appears to be a home-grown militant. The investigators have not been able to find any evidence of direct contact between him and the international Jihad group, like the Islamic states (IS). He did a call on 911 (emergency number), saying he was undertaking the attack in the name of a number of groups, which suggested his world view may have been a little bit confused. A home-grown militant with no apparent accomplices, makes it difficult to find him," Busvine said.

Busvine further said the Orlando shooter came to the attention of the authorities for making some hateful comments and was under investigation for ten months in 2013.

"The investigators were unable to find any evidence of crime and the investigations were dropped. His father has condemned his son's act as a 'terrorist act' and in an interview he apologised to the American people in the run up to the horrific atrocity. His wife or his ex-wife was mentally unstable and violent. She had to be rescued from that marriage for her safety," he added.

Busvine stated that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump reacted and monopolised on this and tried to seize the political initiative in the campaign.

"Few months back, he (Trump) said there should be a ban on the Muslim immigration. He has now qualified that statement, saying there should be a ban on immigration of countries that have been associated with terrorist attacks on the U.S., Europe and its allies. So, that is a very controversial statement. The Republican establishment is backing away from that one," he added.

Busvine also pointed out that Democrats' presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her party are termed it a "gun control issue".

"Orlando is in mourning. We have seen names, faces pictures, selfies of people from their Facebook pages and it brings out the nature of the tragedy. A couple that was going to get married will now be buried," he said.

Twenty-nine-year-old Mateen opened fire at a crowd present at a gay nightclub in Orlando in Florida earlier on Sunday.

He killed 53 people and wounded several others before getting killed in a shootout with the police.