Transcripts from Orlando shooter's 911 calls reveal he called himself an 'Islamic soldier'

On Monday, the FBI released partial transcripts of Orlando gunman Omar Mateen's conversations with dispatchers from inside the bathroom of Orlando LGBT nightclub Pulse as he carried out the deadly shooting that killed 49 people. Mateen spoke with an emergency dispatcher three times while the attack was underway, during which he spoke in Arabic, ordered that the U.S. "stop bombing Syria and Iraq," and called himself "an Islamic soldier." "Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace upon the prophet of God," Mateen said, using the Arabic term for "God." "I let you know, I'm in Orlando and I did the shootings." Mateen also pledged allegiance to an individual and an organization during the call, but the transcript has redacted those names.
During his calls, Mateen claimed to have bombs in a vehicle outside the club and to have a vest similar to what was "used in France" to carry out terrorist attacks, though investigators didn't find evidence of either. He also warned that "in the next few days, you're going to see more of this type of action going on."
Audio of the 911 calls will not be released, though FBI Assistant Special Agent Ronald Hopper noted that Mateen had a "calm, chilling, and deliberate manner" during his calls.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Delivery drivers face continuing heat danger with Trump's OSHA pick
The Explainer David Keeling is the former head of UPS and also worked at Amazon
-
Is that the buzzing sound of climate change worsening sleep apnea?
Under the radar Catching diseases, not those ever-essential Zzs
-
Crossword: July 3, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambush
Speed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California