U.S. President Barack Obama, who will visit Orlando on Thursday to pay his respects to the victims of the country's worst shooting massacre, has said there is no clear evidence that the gay nightclub gunman was directed by the Islamic State to carry out the mass killing.
President Obama after a briefing with law enforcement, counterterrorism and Homeland Security officials yesterday said that even though the gunman had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State while making a 911 call during the attack, there was no clear evidence that he had been part of a wider plot directed by the terrorist group, reports the New York Times.
Though, the attack is being investigated as a terrorism act and the reason of the attack is yet to be identified, he added.
Reportedly, a radio outlet of the IS hailed the attack yesterday and called Omar Mateen (29), who carried out the massacre killing 49 people and wounding several others as "one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America."
Obama said this kind of violence is an example of homegrown terrorism, which comes from extremist information available on the internet and can easily target weak or disturbed individuals.