Omar Mateen had been interviewed by the FBI twice before he killed 49 people at a gay club in Orlando on Sunday, resulting in the worst mass shooting in American history.
The American-born Mateen was investigated in 2012 for terrorist related comments he made to co-workers and again in 2014 for a possible connection to an American-born suicide bomber in Syria. Matten was still able to buy an assault rifle last week, even though he was on the FBI watchlist.
“There has to be an ability to have an alarm when someone who has been interviewed twice by the FBI and has had a history of violence against a spouse can obtain a gun. All those things are areas of concern,” said Congressman Bill Keating on Boston Public Radio Monday.
Keating cited the lack of communication between state and federal authorities and privacy protections that prohibit the FBI as reasons why Mateen was able to slip through the cracks of the system.
“All of a sudden last week he is getting more weapons and these type of weapons. Shouldn't that trigger an alarm at that juncture where they can come back and say, ‘Hey, that person you interviewed is now getting assault weapons.’ That’s something that does not intrude on a person's privacy rights or civil rights.”
With thousands of active investigations in all 50 states, the FBI is overworked and does not have the manpower to successfully cover all their cases, says Keating. The FBI shortage combined with the inadequate incorporation of local and regional law enforcement leads to a dangerous situation where security risks like Matten can still get a gun. If federal and local authorities were able to share more information on suspects, “that might result in that person maybe not getting a gun too,” said Keating.
Keating called the fact that suspects on the terrorist watch are still able to buy explosives and firearms “absurd.” Yet, he and his colleagues cannot get a bill on the floor that would prevent this from happening. “There is such a wall with these issues that pertain to gun ownership,” Keating said.
