The man identified as the Orlando gay club shooting gunman worked for G4S
Shares in G4S cratered in early Monday morning trading after it was confirmed that the man identified as the shooter in the attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando that killed at least 50 people was once employed as an armed security officer by the company.
Shares fell sharply at the open, and have continued to slip since. Here's how that looks:
The shooting was the deadliest in US history. The suspected gunman, 29-year-old Omar Saddiqui Mateen, reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS (also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh) in a 911 call.
Mateen started shooting at about 2 a.m. ET, near last call for the club, which was hosting its popular Latin Night. Police shot and killed Mateen about three hours later.
It's unclear what Mateen's connection with ISIS was, but he was on an FBI list of suspected ISIS sympathizers, and federal authorities had looked into him in 2013 and 2014.
And here is the full statement from John Kenning, Regional CEO at G4S North America & Technologyin response to the shootings:
We are deeply shocked by this tragic event. We can confirm that Omar Mateen had been employed by G4S since Sept. 10, 2007. Mateen was off-duty at the time of the incident. He was employed at a gated retirement community in South Florida.
Mateen underwent company screening and background checks when he was recruited in 2007 and the check revealed nothing of concern. His screening was repeated in 2013 with no findings.
We are cooperating fully with all law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, as they conduct their investigations. In 2013, we learned that Mateen had been questioned by the FBI but that the inquiries were subsequently closed. We were not made aware of any alleged connections between Mateen and terrorist activities, and were unaware of any further FBI investigations.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims of this unspeakable tragedy, and their friends and families.