During one of his three 911 calls on Sunday, Orlando shooter Omar Mateen referred to the Boston Marathon bombers as his "homeboys," a show of solidarity that has confused the FBI since the Tsarnaev brothers have no relation to the Islamic State, The Boston Globe reports.
"During the calls, [Mateen] said he was doing this for the leader of [Islamic State], who he named and pledged loyalty to. But he also appeared to be claiming solidarity with the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing and a Florida man who died as a suicide bomber in Syria for al Nusra front, a group in conflict with the so-called Islamic State," FBI director James Comey said. Mateen had also reportedly supported Hezbollah, another enemy of ISIS.
The Tsarnaev brothers, who killed three and injured 260 in the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, had no connection to ISIS. "The bombers at the Boston Marathon and the bomber in Syria were not inspired by [the Islamic State], which adds a little bit to the confusion about [the shooter's] motives," Comey said, adding that the FBI is "working to understand what role anti-gay bigotry may have played."
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The Boston FBI office has confirmed that Mateen had no connection to the Tsarnaev brothers.
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