Orlando shooter had homosexual tendencies, ex-wife and former classmate say

Orlando shooter Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people at the Pulse gay nightclub on Sunday, June 12, could have been homosexual, according to his ex-wife and former classmate.

Mateen's ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, said there were times when she questioned in her mind if her husband was straight because he would do things that "most straight men won't do."

"He would take a long time in front of the mirror, he would often take pictures of himself, and he made little movements with his body that definitely made me question things. It definitely popped up in my head whether he was totally straight," she said in an interview with TIME.

Yusufiy described Mateen as controlling and abusive who sometimes beat her for petty reasons. They were married for four months, during which he isolated her from her family. When Yusufiy's parents learned about their daughter's condition, they took her away from Mateen.

Yusufiy said Mateen's Afghan roots could have led him to suppress his homosexual tendencies. She also said this could have been the reason for his violence toward her.

"In his family structure, homosexuality was really not tolerated," she said. "And one of the directions of his life was to be a perfect son."

Her observation appears to have been confirmed by Mateen's former classmate at River Community College police academy, who said that Mateen once attempted to ask him out.

He said that Mateen often hung out with them at gay nightclubs, and in one instance, Mateen asked if he was gay. Because he had not come out yet at the time, he said he wasn't.

"He said, 'Well if you were gay, you would be my type,'" the classmate said, according to Daily Mail.

Some people have come forward to testify that they had interacted with Mateen through apps like Jack'd and Grindr.

Jim Van Horn, who frequented Pulse, said he had seen Mateen at the nightclub many times and even talked to him.

Horn said the Orlando shooter was trying to pick up men. Mateen would approach men and try to get them to dance with him, Horn told the Associated Press.

Another classmate of Mateen, Samuel King, said that he knew Mateen to be friendly. King said Mateen never showed any anti-gay attitude toward him and other gay people who worked at Ruby Tuesday's back in 2004.

"He clearly was not anti-(gay), at least not back then," King said, as reported by Daily Mail. "Something must have changed."