‘We don't believe he will go postal,' FBI says in 2013 probe of Omar Mateen

ORLANDO, Fla. — FBI agents who looked into the Pulse terror attack gunman years before he would strike said they did not believe, "he would go postal or anything like that."

The statement about Omar Mateen, 29, was found in FBI and St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office documents from a 2013 investigation.

The 70 pages of documents provide a better idea of the behavior that put Mateen on the FBI’s radar in the first place, but also shows that the FBI did not believe he was a terrorist three years before he opened fire.

The documents show there was a disagreement within the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office as to whether Mateen was a security risk when he was a private security officer at the courthouse.

The newly released documents from the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office show that the FBI special agent in charge was quoted by a sheriff's office higher-up saying, "We do not believe he (Mateen) is a terrorist."

Special Agent in Charge Randall Glass said, "I don't believe he will go postal or anything like that."

The FBI had investigated Mateen in 2013 after reports that Mateen had said he had ties to the Boston bombers and other terrorists.

At first, Mateen lied about saying those things, but later admitted it after he was confronted with information that he had been recorded saying those things, according to documents.

Mateen gave many details of instances where he said he was berated and ridiculed because of his ethnicity and his religion.

He said he was called names, was insulted and was the target of all kinds of accusations.

He told the FBI that he lied about ties to terrorism to stop the sheriff's deputies and G4S Secure Solutions, a private security company, coworkers from ridiculing him.

The records show one higher-up at the sheriff's office was not going to ask G4S to transfer Mateen out of the courthouse security detail, but another higher-up demanded he be transferred, saying there was, "sufficient, reasonable belief has been established that there is a probability for security to be compromised at his current location."

The documents don't show how he believed Mateen's presence would compromise security.

Mateen also pledged his love for America and disdain for terrorists during the FBI interview.

Cox Media Group