The FBI plans to release Monday a partial transcript of the conversations between the Orlando nightclub gunman and police negotiators that took place during the horrific attack that left dozens dead.
Attoey General Loretta Lynch told “Fox News Sunday” that much of Omar Mateen’s talk about his allegiance to radical Islamic groups has been removed.
Armed with a semi-automatic weapon, Mateen went on a bloody rampage at the Pulse Orlando club June 12 that left 49 dead and 53 others seriously hurt.
Mateen died in a hail of gunfire after police stormed the venue, but not before pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State terror group, even during his shooting rampage inside the gay nightclub.
Lynch said a top goal, while intensifying pressure on ISIS, is to build a complete profile of him in order to help prevent another massacre like Orlando.
“We are trying to re-create the days, the weeks, the months of this killer’s life before this attack,” said Lynch, who spoke on all of the major Sunday talk shows. “And we are also asking those people who had contact with him to come forward and give us that information as well.”
Mateen was the focus of two FBI investigations into suspected terrorism. However, the probes were concluded without further action, and Mateen was allowed to legally buy firearms.
Lynch said the Justice Department is “going to go back and see what changes could have been made,” regarding how the investigations were handled.
Lynch said she’s traveling to Orlando Tuesday to meet with federal investigators.
While speaking to CBS’ “Face The Nation,” Lynch said that a key goal of the probe was to determine why Mateen targeted the gay community. The victims were predominantly gay and Hispanic since it was "Latin night" at Pulse.
Lynch, speaking to “Fox News Sunday,” declined to say whether federal authorities will charge anybody in connection with the mass murder. She also declined to comment on why the wife of the shooter has not been arrested, amid purported evidence that she helped her husband plot the murders.
She also expressed support from an amendment scheduled for a vote Monday in the Senate by Texas GOP Sen. John Coyn that would allow the federal govement to delay a gun sale to a suspected terrorist for as long as 72 hours. Afterward, prosecutors would have to persuade a judge to block the sale permanently.
Lynch said such an amendment would give the federal govement the ability to stop a sale to somebody on the terror watch list.
Meanwhile, thousands of people packed Lake Eola Park in Florida Sunday evening for a vigil to honor the victims of the shooting. The park was filled with people holding white flowers, American flags and candles.
At the end of the vigil, people held up their candles as the names of each victim were read, creating a ring of fire around Lake Eola. They chanted "One Orlando," ''Orlando United" and "Somos Orlando," Spanish for "We are Orlando."
"That event has gotten the attention of the world," said Evania Nichols, an Orlando resident. "And, for Orlando — a city that's always been incredibly inclusive no matter your skin color, no matter your background — it's brought about a movement that I think is starting here and I really hope continues."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.