The Orlando Shooter May Have Considered Attacking This Other Destination

As a federal law enforcement source told PEOPLE, the Orlando shooter may have considered Disney World as a target before he settled on Pulse, the gay nightclub where he murdered 49 people on Saturday night.

The shooter, Omar Mateen, was known to have strong homophobic views.

Apparently, Mateen and his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, went to Disney world in April, possibly as a target for an attack. After this, Noor Zahi Salman reportedly told authorities, he staked out both Downtown Disney and Pulse.

It should be said, however, this is still hearsay.

But as PEOPLE points out, Downtown Disney, unlike many other Disney World parks, has no bag check upon entry, making it easier to attack.

Information about how much the FBI knew about Omar Mateen before the attacks is still coming out, but the organization has admitted to investigating him twice -- in 2013 and 2014 -- first because of certain comments he made at work and second because of an affiliation with an American-born suicide bomber in Syria.

Despite this, Omar Mateen was still able to buy an AR-15 a week before the attacks. The AR-15 is an assault rifle originally designed for the military and used in the Vietnam War. It is the same weapon that was used in the Aurora, San Bernardino and Newton shootings, among others.

Citations: PEOPLE