Today monday, june 13th, 2016. Announcer from nbc news, this is a special edition of today, terror in orlando with matt lauer live from orlando, and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And we say good morning on this the monday morning, a special split edition of today, 7 00 on the west coast, a very somber morning here in orlando, florida. Im matt lauer. Savannah is back in studio 1a. The pulse nightclub just at the end of the block on orange avenue. You can see a lot of vehicles still out in front of it. People are still searching for evidence there was a team from the atf, from the fbi here just a second ago, walking down the street behind me. Side by side looking down, looking for any kind of evidence they could find. Once in a while stopping, bending over to put a marker in the spot where they were standing. Let us get to what we know right now, the developments as we said the death toll at 50. That includes omar mateen, the gunman who opened fire inside pulse, a popular gay nightclub here in orlando. During a News Conference earlier this morning authorities said 48, 48 of the 49 victims have been identified. Isis is calling mateen one of its soldiers here in this country as we reported he pledged his loyalty to that terror group in a 911 call moments before the shooting started. Federal officials now say mateen took two trips to saudi arabia, the visits occurring in 2011 and 2012. But the nature of those trips, the purpose of those trips, is still not known. Nbc nightly news anchor lester holt is here. Good morning to you. Good morning. It was as chaotic as desperate. Police arriving at the scene trying to take down the shooter before he could kill more. Emergency services overwhelmed some taken away in police cars, not enough ambulances. Then in all of the chaos the agonizing question of who made it and who didnt. Families are desperate for any word it. Now the world is asking why 29yearold omar mateen opened fire at a nightclub in florida, late sunday the gunmans exwife called him physically and emotionally abusive. He was mentally unstable and mentally ill. Thats the only explanation. He was obviously disturbed. It started at 2 00 sunday morning when mateen approached pulse, a gay nightclub in the heart of down town orlando. Armed with handgun and ar15 rifle like this one. Oh, my god. He made his way inside and opened fire on a crowd of more than 300, some of the patrons hid in bathrooms, others ran escaping through a patio. Bomb squad and s. W. A. T. Teams arrived within the hour. He kept on shooting. Those who couldnt escape became trapped. One mother, nina, received Text Messages from her son eddy. I got the text after i talked to him he said call the police. I called the dispatcher and reported a shooting at a club. From inside eddy wrote hes coming. Im gonna die. When she asked if the shooter was in the bathroom with him eddy responded yes. It would be the last text she would receive from her son. Finally, a it 5 00 a. M. Police stormed the building. The sound of gun fire ringing in the streets. We were able to save and rescue dozens and dozens of people injured and not injured. Outside chaos, the wounded carried out by friends and bystanders, family members rushing to find loved ones. No one can tell me where my son is. If hes shot or if hes dead. The fbi investigated mateen on two previous occasions. He called 911 pledging allegiance to isis. In washington, president obama addressed the nation. We know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. Last night at the tony awards. Senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised. Linmanuel miranda honored the victims with a poem. Hope and love lasts longer and love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside. As the country rallies around the Lgbt Community vigils were held remembering those lost. Like 34yearold Edward Sotomayor who worked for a travel company and described by a cousin as always a part of the fun. And 37yearold kimberly morris, whose friend described her as an amazing woman saying she didnt live her life according to anyones guidelines. She was simply kimberly. We heard a lot about this being a gay nightclub but it was latin night. There were straight, gays, it was a fun time people were right up to the time that the bullets started. Even then people didnt realize what they were hearing because of the loud music, then the realization and those who could make their way out did. Others hid and prayed he wouldnt find them. Thank you. Appreciate it. Earlier we spoke to chris hanson, he was inside pulse when that shooting that lester described started. I began by asking chris how hes been able to get his head around whats happened. Its difficult, its challenging. I havent had much sleep yet. Maybe three hours since everything happened. People have been seeing the aerial views of the pulse nightclub. Can you give us the lay of the land, tell us where you were compared to the rest of the room. Yes. When you walk into the door theres like a v. I. P. Lounge area, the couches are about where you sit about that height. And i was on the edge kind of by the bathroom so toward the back patio. Kind of facing the bar. As the gunman came in he was shooting forward. I just it was easier for me to get out. Music was pounding, everybody told us some confused the gun fire for the beat of the music. How long didit take for you to realize this was nothing normal . After a couple shots. You hear the bang like okay, this isnt a song, this is reality. You hear the screaming and see the blood. The guy next to me falls over. Im like oh, look behind me and you see those in the v. I. P. Area going down, other people going down. Thats when i go down and like im going to i got to crawl out of here. Get out of here. I wasnt running. No way. People were standing and im not going to be a moving target. I was crawling out. I dropped and crawled until i got to the patio. You were crawling from what i understand there were people tripping over you, stepping on you trying to get to the door. To the back door. Thats the area, everybody was just scrambling out. The young lady i know next to you who was badly wounded, there were others. How is how did she do . Im not quite sure. I have no idea. I didnt get her last name. I dont remember it. She told me but i asked her, she had heart problems so she was having a hard time catching her breath and there was an arm wound so she was bleeding. Doesnt matter where youre shot, when youre trying to breathe going through that shocking moment you have to be there to keep her awake. Like so many you watched the coverage of these kinds of shootings from other cities around the world. Did you ever try to imagine what you would do in a similar circumstance . Actually no. My dad was stationed in cheyenne, wyoming at an air force base when columbine happened and i was going to school there. That was one of the first shootings i experienced. Later went on to elementary school, in ohio so you know, it was difficult. Then coming here and actually being a part of an actual shooting and seeing the weapons used, its not something that i would wake up and say oh, hey, lets get dodged today. Thats not you accounted for your friends . I didnt know anybody in there. Im new here. It was my first night. Found out it was latin night so. I dont know spanish but i stayed. Even if the you dont know the language. Our conversation earlier with chris hanson, new to orlando, first time in that club and this happens. Were learning more about the gunman, omar mateen, a man who had been on the fbis radar in the past. Stephanie gosk is standing outside his home in fort pierce, florida, which is about two hours to the south of here. Stephanie, good morning. Reporter good morning. Now that Law Enforcement has pulled out residents are returning to their homes, coming to terms with the fact that they live next door to a killer. While were learning more about him omar mateen went to a state college, he got a degree in criminal justice technology. His former exwife told us he was obsessed with the police force but he never became a Police Officer. Instead turned into an angry, volatile and unpredictable man. Omar mateen was an american citizen, a muslim born in new york to parents from afghanistan. In a picture with his current wife and their young son they look happy. The beginning he was normal. Reporter his exwife said he realized how troubled he was in their brief marriage eight years ago. He would get mad out of nowhere. Thats when i started worrying about my safety and then after a few months he started abusing me physically. Reporter she turned to her family. My family rescued me, the night that they were there they had to pull me out of his arms. Reporter she hasnt spoken to him in seven years. The fbi had its own concerns. Investigating mateen twice in the last four years for possible links with violent extremism. But nothing turned up in either case. And the fbi now says there was no indication he was planning an attack. He was scary. Scary. Yeah, he was scary to in a concerning way. It wasnt at times. It was all the time. Reporter daniel, a former Police Officer worked with mateen as a Security Guard and said he was disturbed by mateens unpredictable angry outbursts. He would kick things and throw things and slam his hands down and have a violent outburst of rage. Reporter his rants often racist. He says i want to kill all of these ends. I mean that was he said that all the time. Reporter referring to . Black people. Yeah. Reporter gilroy says he reported him to supervisors. Mateen calling and texting gilroy. 18 was the number one day. In a single day. Right. That went unreplied. Reporter he and his family grew scared of mateen and ultimately he quit. Do you wish you raised the issue with other people besides well, now i do. I feel responsibility. Shock. I feel responsible. I felt like because i was a coward 50 people are dead. Thats the way i feel. Reporter the Security Company mateen worked for g4s confirmed he wad been their employee since 2007 and released a statement, we are shocked and saddened by the tragic event at the orlando nightclub. They are cooperating fully with Law Enforcement and the fbi. Powerful statements from his coworker. Thank you. Omar mateens father also speaking out this morning, in an interview with nbcs Kerry Sanders he says he is shocked by his sons actions. Kerry, good morning. Good morning. In a search for answers into this mass shooter omar mateen, i went to his father seddique mateen. In his father there may be clues. By way of background. Seddique mateen is politically active. Visited congress, the state department and met with political leaders during that trip. The elder mateen made the trip in april is seen on social media posing in front of the state department and the democratic Foreign Services committee office, the afghanistan native, who also writes openly on the internet espouses his support for the taliban, which like isis, is an Extremist Islamic Group in afghanistan. The gunmans father posted a video on facebook, apologizing for his sons actions in his native language. He called his son a good boy, well educated, and living a dignified life. But also included this statement. The punishment for homosexuality is upon god, and he will decide on them not humans. Just hours earlier he spoke at length with nbc news about what his son did. What triggered . This is i am as shocked as you are. I dont approve this. In the United States any one has the freedom and the choice to how to run his life. Nobody has the right to do anything or impose anything so i dont approve of him what he did. Did you know he had purchased these weapons . No. I wish i did know. I wish i did know. If i did know that he purchase that weapon this would not have happened. This is very hard to understand, you saw your son just hours before he went on this rampage. Exactly. He was one person and this person who murderous rampage another. He became another person. Did he ever talk about homosexuality . Except one time we were in miami we saw the behavior of two, one couple. And he got a little bit ticked off. What did he say . Nothing that look at this. What did you say . Well, them are two guys kissing each other in front of the family. In my mind for all of those people they lost loved one and those families, those brothers, sisters that got injured i i wish them speedy recovery. And i hope this never happens to our great land United States of america. And American People are loving people and i believe in forgiveness and here . I hope so. Because what my son did is a horrible thing. Reporter that is omar mateen the gunmans father seddique talking to us. He says he got a phone call around 4 00 a. M. But it wasnt until the fbi showed up hours later that he was able to confirm through the fbi that indeed it was his son who was the gunman. The fbi took papers and took seddiques computer, evidence perhaps with digital fingerprints that may explain what his son what triggered his son and what he was all about. Also the fbi would like to know whether he acted alone. Savannah. A lot of questions. For more on the gunman and the investigation joined by Pete Williams, talking to his sources. Pete, i know you have new information. Good morning to you. Good morning. The fbi says that agents actually interviewed omar mateen a total of three times and even put him under surveillance for a while but concluded he was Somebody Just likely to spout off. Agents say they found nothing to indicate that he was on any path to terrorism. Three years ago coworkers complained he was boasting about having terror connections and then a year later after he had contact with another florida man who later became a suicide bomber in syria, agents interviewed mateen again and concluded that contact was minimal. Both times the fbi says case closed. No sign of terror connection and none of those disqualify him from buying guns because he was never convicted or charged with a crime. In the past week or so the atf says he bought the two guns like these used in the shooting ar15 style rifle with a high capacity magazine and a. 9 millimeter handgun. Federal agents searched his apartment in the city of fort pierce 120 miles from orlando as we reported, looking for anything that would indicate when he began planning his deadly shooting. So far Officials Say nothing definite. Law enforcement Officials Say they found no evidence suggesting he was communicating with terror people overseas, in other words nothing to suggest this was a foreign directed attack. And they say mateen traveled twice to the middle east to saudi arabia in 2011 and the United Arab Emirates in 2012. The Saudi ForeignMinistry Says this morning that both times he was on a muslim pilgrimage but investigators say they want to know more about those trips. Investigation just starting really. Pete, thank you. Well get more on that in a minute. Lets turn to al, our first check of the weather. Lets see whats happening out west. Things relatively quiet which is good news, as we look you can see theres activity now through the rockies but for the most part a few scattered showers around puget sound. Clouds moving into the pacific northwest, we are looking at showers from seattle to medford, look for fog this morning from San Francisco down into los angeles, once it burns off looking at sunshine, a few thunderstorms hit or miss around denver, 79 degrees. 80 in billings. The rest of the country we look for more wet weather through the central gulf, also Severe Weather through the central plains. Im going to make this as simple as possible for you. You can go ahead and stick with that complicated credit card that limits where you earn bonus cash back. Or. You can get the quicksilver card from capital one. Quicksilver earns you unlimited 1. 5 cash back on every purchase, everywhere. I shouldnt have to ask. Whats in your wallet . Good morning. Im meteorologist carry hall. Temperatures now in the upper 50s as you head out the door. Lower 50s for the north bay with a mix of sun and clouds. Highs reaching 78 in the south bay and peninsula. 73 in the east bay. 74 in the trivalley. Upper 70s. San francisco we start out with clouds, afternoon sunshine. Its 65 and it will reach 65 with 75 in the north bay. Orlando shooting were seeing on the President Campaign trail. Well talk to donald trump and Hillary Clinton. Plus, did isis inspire or influence this gunman . Well talk about that and more with a former Homeland Security security adviser to the white house. But first, this is today on nbc. Just ahead open a monday morning the families of the wounded speak out as we follow the latest on the investigation into the mass shooting at the try micellar water want a dfrom garnier skinactive. The micelles attract dirt like a magnet to 1. Remove makeup 2. Cleanse and 3. Soothe. No harsh rubbing, no rinsing. Micellar water from garnier skinactive. 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A vigil last night in San Franciscos harvey milk plaza brought out thousands to the castro where a memorial continues to grow. In san