gunman had used gay dating app, visited nightclub, witnesses say

ORLANDO, Fla. — The gunman who attacked a Florida gay nightclub had attended the club before the attack and had used a gay dating and chat app, witnesses said.

Kevin West, a regular at Pulse nightclub, said Omar Mateen messaged him on and off for a year before the shooting using the gay chat and dating app Jack'd.

But they never met — until early Sunday morning.

West was dropping off a friend at the club when he noticed Mateen — whom he knew by sight but not by name — crossing the street wearing a dark cap and carrying a black cellphone about 1 a.m., an hour before the shooting.

"He walked directly past me. I said, 'Hey,' and he turned and said, 'Hey,' " and nodded his head, West said. "I could tell by the eyes."