On the recordJune 14, 2016
I know the country is in shock and still trying to evaluate the terrorist attack in Orlando as we continue to learn from the FBI's investigation. The attack killed almost 50 people and of course left dozens injured. According to the latest reports, one of the victims was Frank Escalante from Weslaco, TX. My heart goes out to Frank, his family and friends, and all those others who lost loved ones early Sunday morning and to those living with the wounds they sustained in that terrible attack. With this act of violence and hatred, Orlando sadly joins a growing list of American cities and cities around the world changed forever by radical Islamic extremism. The jihadist, like those in San Bernardino before him, declared his allegiance to the Islamic State, and like the two Boston Marathon bombers, he was previously investigated by the FBI for connections to terrorists or known terrorist groups that carried out attacks similar to the gruesome attacks in Paris last November. Like those terrorists, the terrorist in Orlando targeted hundreds of unarmed civilians, and ISIS has used the Internet to urge lone wolves to imitate these types of attacks. In other words, not only are we concerned about people in the Middle East who have pledged allegiance to ISIS coming to the United States, we are concerned about Americans who are traveling from the United States, going there and training, and then coming back home.…
Source
govinfo.gov




