Coworker of Suspected Orlando Gunman Says He Reported Him to Employer as 'Unhinged'

A number of people have come forward describing Omar Mateen, the man who killed about 50 people in an queer Orlando nightclub Saturday night, as violent, angry, and hateful. Among them is a coworker at security firm G4S, Daniel Gilroy, who says that he reported Mateen's aggressive and homophobic behavior to supervisors but saw no action taken.

The two men guarded PGA Village, a popular Florida golf resort and gated community, where they would interact when Mateen took over Gilroy's shifts. Mateen threw violent tantrums when angry and made racist and homophobic comments, according to Gilroy, who also said Mateen at one point bombarded him with 20 to 30 texts a day.

"I quit because everything he said was toxic," Gilroy told Florida Today. "The company wouldn't do anything. This guy was unhinged and unstable. He talked of killing people."

While a woman who lived at PGA Village said Mateen was polite to her, his ex-wife Sitora Yusufiy echoed similar sentiments as Gilroy, and said he physically abused her. Additionally, his father said Mateen was angered a few days before the attack, after seeing two men kiss.

Mateen was the subject of FBI investigations that began in 2013, for possible ties to terrorism, based on reports by coworkers at G4S. He had begun working at the firm, a multinational security service company headquartered in London, in 2007. Following the attack, the company released a statement confirming Mateen had worked with them for almost nine years.

"We are shocked and saddened by the tragic event that occurred at the Orlando nightclub," North American G4S CEO John Kenning said in the statement. "We can confirm that Omar Mateen had been employed with G4S since September 10, 2007. Omar Mateen was not on duty at the time of the incident. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, as they conduct their investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the friends, families and people affected by this unspeakable tragedy."

The company's statement did not elaborate on whether Mateen had been the subject of internal investigations and whether the company had been aware of the allegations against him by coworkers. G4S did not respond to requests for comment via emails and phone calls.

Much of the criticism following the shooting revolved around the fact that Mateen purchased powerful, semi-automatic weapons just days before the shooting, despite having been the subject of an FBI investigation.