Gun store owner: FBI was contacted about Orlando shooter a month ago

A Florida gun store owner revealed on Thursday that he had contacted the FBI about Omar Mateen about a month ago when the Orlando nightclub shooter had attempted to purchase body armor and a large amount of ammunition, according to reports.

Robert Abell, who owns Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, said that the store turned Mateen away when he tried to purchase 1,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as two types of body armor that the store did not carry.

The store owner’s suspicions were heightened when Mateen spoke on the phone to someone in a foreign language.

The store contacted the FBI, which was also investigating a group of Middle Eastern men buying police gear at the store. The men turned out to be security guards. The FBI asked about Mateen’s visit, but the store couldn’t provide any indentifying details or security camera footage.

Store employees realized that the man was Mateen after his picture circulated in the media in the wake of the massacre that left 49 people dead. Mateen was killed by police when they raided the nightclub.

CNN also reported that the shooter had texted his wife, Noor Salem, during the killing spree, asking if she had seen news reports about it. She attempted to call him but he never answered.

And Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron JohnsonRon JohnsonAre Senate Republicans facing an election wipeout? Trump’s Rust Belt hopes rise in Wisconsin With survey showing support for overtime rules, where do GOP senators stand? MORE (R-Wis.) revealed on Thursday that Mateen had posted on Facebook during the attack, pledging his support to ISIS.

"You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes ... now taste the Islamic state vengeance,” he wrote in one post.