Orlando’s Police Chief John Mina said that during his conversations with the negotiators, Mateen "didn't ask for much. We were doing most of the asking”. He described the gunman as?“cool and calm”.
He said the situation “stabilised” and there were no more shots.
During his final call to 911, Mateen pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and told the negotiators he had a bomb vest and explosives. He also claimed a connection to the?Tsarnaev brothers, who were responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
It was at that point, shortly before 5am, that the talks “became a crisis for us”, said Chief Mina.?“There was a timeline given [by Mateen] and we believed there was an imminent loss of life.”
The SWAT crews were given the go-ahead to use explosives to try to breach the lavatory wall, but they did not penetrate enough, so the BearCat was brought in to punch a 3ft wide hole through the side of the building.