Dr. Welner added that above all, the spectacle killer’s priority is the highest possible body count. That potential for a massive body count, he noted, may have influenced the killer’s choice of the Pulse nightclub. ABC News and Stephanopolous called particular attention to the killer’s reported presence in gay chat rooms and his patronage of Pulse. However, Dr. Welner cautioned, there could be many associations and one must be careful not to presume. He cited, for example: 1) The possibility that the killer, familiar with Pulse as a patron, could access and prepare an attack in a crowded enclosed space he knew well, as did James Holmes in a Colorado cinema; 2) That any sense of dishonor the killer bore over bisexuality, given his father’s standing as a prominent Taliban aligned public figure, would be dispelled by attacking America during Ramadan and redeeming himself; 3) That he was ingratiating himself into the gay community socially in order not to call suspicious attention to himself as he had earlier, at Disneyworld. Dr. Welner, who has consulted on a number of cases involving hate crime defendants such as Matthew Shepard, acknowledged the importance of the killer’s familiarity to Pulse patrons -- who might otherwise be suspicious of unfamiliar patrons with bad motives.
To watch Dr. Welner’s interview on Good Morning America, click here
To read Dr. Welner’s proposed solutions to reducing the Islamist threat in America, click here
