BARACK Obama said Orlando gunman Omar Mateen was inspired by extremist propaganda online but there is no evidence he was part of a bigger plot.
His comments come after the President of the USA was criticised by Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump for not linking the horrific mass shooting to ‘radical Islam’.
President Obama said: “This is being treated as a terrorist investigation.
“It appears that the shooter was inspired by various extremist information that was disseminated over the internet.
“At this stage we see no clear evidence that he was directed externally.
“It does appear that at the last minute he pledged allegiance to ISIL but there is no evidence so far that he was in fact directed by ISIL and also at this stage there’s no direct evidence that he was part of a larger plot.
“In that sense it appears to be similar to what we saw in San Bernardino but we don’t yet know.”
In San Bernardino, California, 14 people were killed and 22 were seriously injured lastDecember by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a couple who weren’t members of terrorist cells and instead were inspired by extremist information they had read online.
As well as calling for Barack Obama to resign Donald Trump has also urged his rival for the White House, Hillary Clinton, to ‘get out of this race for the Presidency’ after her reaction to the massacre in the Pulse nightclub in which 50 people were killed.