Orlando gunman Omar Mateen was allegedly captured on surveillance cameras during at least one hook-up with a man at a hotel on December 2015, at 11pm.
Miguel, who spoke in fluent Spanish and broken English, said he had met Mateen on Grindr before they became 'friends with benefits', meeting up to 20 times at the hotel in Orlando.
He told Univision's Maria Elena Salinas: 'In my opinion he did the shooting for revenge.' Pulse is where Mateen could inflict the most damage against the people he felt rejected by, Miguel said.
Before the massacre, Miguel insists, Mateen seemed 'adorable' and 'sweet', adding that they often had oral sex and that Mateen 'loved to be cuddled... he loved to be embraced'. Their first date, he said, was at a bar in Orlando called Parliament. 'It was like any other date,' he recounted. Every other meeting was at the Ambassador Hotel, where they met 15 to 20 times between October and December 2015.
Univision said a representative for the hotel confirmed that Omar Mateen was a familiar face, and that he had stayed there at least 63 times last year.
Miguel said the 29-year-old eventually revealed to him that he was married with one child. After an argument, he said, Mateen apologized to him and even told him his wife his dates with men. Asked if Mateen's father knew he was gay, Miguel said he couldn't be sure but he thought so. During their casual relationship, Miguel said Mateen spoke about Islam, describing it as 'a beautiful religion in which everyone is welcome - gays, trans, bisexuals, heteros, everyone.'
But it became clear that Mateen fostered a deep hatred for his own sexuality and for Puerto Rican gay men. 'He was always there and he was there because he liked Latinos and he was attracted to dark skin. But sadly, from what he told me, he felt used and rejected. He felt anger, a lot of anger towards Puerto Ricans.'
Miguel said he has reported his entire story to the FBI, and is currently being interrogated by federal officers. The FBI has apparently obtained footage from the hotel, both TMZ and Univision reported. |
