Orlando Gunman's Father Makes Shocking Admission

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PORT ST. LUCIE (CBSMiami/AP) – The father of the man who shot and killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub over the weekend has made a shocking admission.

During a brief news conference on Wednesday, Seddique Mateen, father of 29-year-old Omar Mateen, said he believes his son's actions were an act of terror.

"I draw this conclusion because when I heard from the news that my son endorsed ISIS," said Mateen.

Seddique Mateen said that his family had nothing to do with his son's actions. He said he didn't know that his son had bought firearms and was influenced by an international terror group.

However, he also put the blame on Pulse nightclub, saying they should have had better security to protect the lives of the people in the club.

Early Sunday morning, Omar Mateen walked into the Pulse nightclub, which catered to the gay community, and opened fire with an assault rifle and handgun. In addition to those killed, another 52 were injured.

An Orlando television station says Omar Mateen called them during his standoff with police and declared his support for the Islamic State.

Matt Gentili, a producer at CFN 13 in Orlando, says a man called him and said "I'm the shooter. It's me. I am the shooter."

Gentili says the man started to say he did it for the Islamic State and started speaking in Arabic.

The call came in about 2:45 a.m., roughly 45 minutes into the massacre.

Omar Mateen died in a shootout with police.

Federal authorities suspect his current wife Noor Salman knew about the attack and tried to stop her husband. They are reluctant to charge her on that basis alone.

Seddique Mateen said his family is in shock over what has happened and has apologized to the families that have been affected.

"We're all affected. I'm a victim of terrorism, I lost my son. This is a nightmare for a father and mother to lose a son and another 50 family members. They are my family and another 52 got injured," he said.

Seddique Mateen dodged any questions about the current whereabouts of his daughter-in-law.

U.S. Attorney Lee Bently, of the middle district of Florida, said it is unclear if anyone else will be charged. There are reports that a Grand Jury has been convened to take up the issue.

In addition to the terror angle, federal investigators are also looking into whether Omar Mateen's sexual preference played a role in his actions.

Kevin West, a regular at Pulse nightclub, said when he saw Omar Mateen's photo on TV he immediately recognized him from a gay dating app. He said Omar Mateen sent him text messages on and off for about a year – adding the conversations were pretty innocent.

West told the Los Angeles Times that he was dropping a friend off at the club when he noticed Omar Mateen and said "hi" an hour before the shooting.

Jim Van Horn, 71, a frequent patron at Pulse, said Omar Mateen was a "regular" at the gay bar.

The Orlando Sentinel and other news organizations quoted regular customers at the gay bar as saying they had seen Omar Mateen there a number of times.

Omar Mateen's ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, said it's possible he hid feelings about being gay.

"When we had gotten married, he confessed to me about his past, that he very much enjoyed going to clubs and the nightlife, and there was a lot of pictures of him. I feel like it's a side of him or a part of him that he lived, but probably didn't want everybody to know about."

Seddique Mateen, denied his son was gay and said that if he had been in the nightclub before, he may have been "scouting the place." He added that apart from the time his son got angry a few months ago over seeing two men kissing, he never saw any anti-gay behavior from him.

Seddique Mateen, who said his family has been receiving threats, has been in the home all day and has not responded to CBS4's calls since the morning press conference.

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