| brassmonkey |
06-14-2016 02:25 PM |
Mateen was ?searching,? ?curious,? says transgender woman who met him at gay club
Daniele Tashner, 60, said she met Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people on Sunday, last year at a gay nightclub in Orlando. (Photo: Ryan Brown/Yahoo News)
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ORLANDO ? A transgender woman described Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen as being curious, searching, and uncomfortable when they met at a popular gay club late last year.
Daniele Tashner, 60, said she immediately recognized Mateen when he was identified as the gunman who killed 49 people and injured dozens more at the Pulse dance club in Orlando early Sunday morning.
?When they showed this guy on the news, my heart cringed and I almost broke out in tears. I saw this person about eight months ago. I actually realized that I spoke to this person for about 15 minutes sitting in a gazebo at the back of Parliament House,? she said in an interview with Yahoo News.
Parliament House is another popular gay club in Orlando that is about a 10-minute drive northwest of Pulse.
People hold up candles to honor the Pulse shooting victims with the First United Methodist Church in the background, in downtown Orlando on June 13, 2016. (Photo: Michael Walsh/Yahoo News)
Yahoo News spoke to Tashner during a Monday night vigil, which attracted thousands of people, outside the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando. Tashner is not an employee at Parliament House, but said she takes care of plants at the club and that customers often feel comfortable talking to her.
According to Tashner, Mateen, 29, arrived at Parliament House with a friend and introduced himself but then kept to himself and observed people in conversation. When he spoke up, she said, he had questions and was, ?reaching out.?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mateen-se...000000002.html |
