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The father of the suspect in the shooting of 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando condemned the massacre, but appeared to imply that God will punish gay people.
Federal authorities identified the gunman at the Pulse club as Omar Mateen, 29, a New York-born resident of Fort Pierce, Fla.
His father Seddique Mateen posted a video in the Dari language of Afghanistan on his Facebook page early Monday.
In a message to the people of Afghanistan, he said: “I don’t know what made him (do this), I have no idea, I had no idea that he felt resentful in his heart and had gone to the gay (he used the derogatory term hamjensbazi) club and killed men and women there,” according to the Guardian.
He described his son as “a very good and well-educated son with a wife and a child.”
He said: “I am very sad and I’ve announced this to the American people as well. Why did he do this act during this holy month of Ramadan. On the topic of being hamjensbazi, punishment and the things that they do, God will give the punishment."