Documents: Pulse gunman repeatedly taunted, harassed for being Muslim

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Monday, July 18, 2016
Orlando nightclub shooting suspect Omar Mateen is shown in an undated photo alongside an image of the scene at the front of Pulse Nightclub on Sunday, June 12, 2016.
Orlando nightclub shooting suspect Omar Mateen is shown in an undated photo alongside an image of the scene at the front of Pulse Nightclub on Sunday, June 12, 2016.
ABC News / AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

ORLANDO, Fla. -- New documents show the gunman who killed 49 patrons at a Florida nightclub was repeatedly taunted for being Muslim in his job as a security guard at a Florida courthouse.

Records released Monday by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office show Omar Mateen claimed he was regularly called derogatory epithets for being Muslim by deputies and others at the St. Lucie Courthouse, where he worked as a contract guard.

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Also according to the records, Mateen told his bosses that in response to the taunting, he told co-workers he had ties to the Boston Marathon bombing suspects and the Fort Hood shooter.

That prompted an investigation by the FBI, which concluded he wasn't a terrorist.

Mateen opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded. He was eventually killed by police.

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