Orlando gunman raged against 'filthy ways of the West'

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando gunman Omar Mateen apparently made a series of Facebook posts before and during his attack on a gay nightclub, raging against the "filthy ways of the west" and blaming the U.S. for the deaths of "innocent women and children," according to a Senate committee letter released Wednesday.
The killer whose rampage left 49 people dead also searched for "Pulse Orlando" and "Shooting" online on the morning of the carnage Sunday and said on Facebook, "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state," according to the letter.
The messages were detailed in a letter from the Senate Homeland Security Committee to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking the company to produce information on Mateen's online activity and to provide a briefing to the panel.
The letter was released as the long, sad procession of memorials and funerals for the victims began in Orlando and the FBI appealed for the public's help in reconstructing the killer's movements. Investigators also zeroed in what role his wife may have played in the attack at Pulse dance club.
"We need your help in developing the most complete picture of what he did and why he did it," FBI agent Ron Hopper said at a news conference.
In its letter, the committee said staffers have learned that five Facebook accounts were associated with the 29-year-old American-born Muslim.
"The real muslims will never accept the filthy way of the west," Mateen wrote, according to the letter.