Via Vocative:
ISIS Amaq News Agency has officially claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting in Orlando, saying that “a soldier of the Islamic State has carried out the attack.”
Suspected gunman Omar Mateen killed 50 people inside a gay nightclub early Sunday morning; shortly beforehand, he called 911 to pledge his allegiance to the Islamic State. Long before ISIS issued its response, users on one of the main ISIS forums praised the violence. “Oh America, you will not sleep and shut an eye as long as there are Mujahedeen. May God will bless you my brother and grant you with heaven,” wrote one supporter. Said another, “Allah Akbar, the target is a place for deviant people, who also known as homosexuals.”
As one ISIS supporter pointed out, the Florida shooting follows ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani’s most recent speech, in which al-Adnani called upon “soldiers and supporters of the Caliphate in Europe and America” to attack civilians, “spread the terror,” and “open the door of Jihad” in their homes during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Another ISIS sympathizer shared images and videos from Orlando and wrote, “there is nothing I love more than the blood of infidels. This is the month of victories and blessings.”