VIOLENT FAMILY HISTORY
Orlando killer’s mom accused of beating pro-Taliban husband
(FOX)- Omar Mateen, the Orlando nightclub attacker, grew up in a home frought with violence, with his mother accused of beating her husband during their many fights, according to reports published Saturday shedding new light on what may have helped spark the massacre.
Police had arrested Mateen’s mother, Shahla, on charges of domestic violence in 2002, police records show. Speaking to the Daily Beast, a former Walgreens coworker, Becky Diefendorf, described Shahla as “paranoid.”
Officers said they arrested Shahla after she and her husband had a heated argument that ended with her pulling his hair and pinching him so hard that it left a mark. According to the police report, her husband claimed she’d beat him before.
The husband, Seddique Mateen, reportedly never pressed charges. Omar Mateen was 16 at the time. After the massacre, the killer’s ex-wife said he himself abused her.
Both parents came to the U.S. from Afghanistan. Omar Mateen was born in New York before the family moved to Florida.
Seddique, who announced a run for president of Afghanistan last year, has released a series of odd videos on YouTube. In some, he praises the Taliban and decries Pakistan.
Diefendorf said Shahla often alluded to her family’s turmoil. “She would just come at me and say, ‘I have to go, family problem,’ and leave.”
Omar Mateen had three sisters and no brothers. People who knew him said he often seemed conflicted about his Muslim faith.