He was mentally unstable, says ex-wife of suspected Orlando shooter

Ex-wife of the Orlando shooter identified as Omar Mateen, who killed at least 50 people at a gay nightclub, has alleged her former husband was violent and mentally unstable.

According to the woman, who wishes to remain unnamed, Mateen used to beat her repeatedly over petty issues when they were living together.

She had met him online about eight years ago, following which she moved to Florida. In the beginning, the marriage seemed fine but soon afterwards, Omar became abusive.



“He was not a stable person. He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that.”

Omar’s ex-wife shared his family hailed from Afghanistan; however, her ex-husband was born in New York from where the family moved to Florida.

Omar had uploaded a series of photos on Myspace, wearing New York Police Department shirts and that was where his wife identified him.

Her marriage came at a time when, according to her, she was going through difficult time. She married Omar in March 2009 and moved to a two-bedroom condominium in Fort Pierce.

To his wife, Omar appeared to be normal, not a very religious guy who often worked out at the gym. Although he owned a small-caliber handgun as he worked as a guard at a facility for juvenile delinquents, Mateen showed no sign of falling under the sway of extremism.

The ex-wife said her parents intervened when they learned Mateen had assaulted her.

According to Florida court records, the two formally divorced in 2011.

The article originally appeared in The Washington Post