Florida gunman referenced Boston Marathon bombers: official

By Reuters

Friends and family members embrace outside the Orlando Police Headquarters during the investigation of a shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida

BOSTON (Reuters) – The gunman who killed at least 50 people at an Orlando gay club referenced the brothers who carried out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, a Massachusetts State Police spokesman said on Sunday.

“During a conference call with federal law enforcement officials a short time ago, Massachusetts State Police and other local law enforcement authorities learned that the Orlando nightclub gunman, during his rampage, pledged allegiance to ISIS and referenced the Tsarnaev brothers,” state police spokesman David Procopio said in an e-mail.

The Tsarnaev brothers killed three people and injured more than 260 in the April 15, 2013, attack. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died four days later during a gunbattle with police while Dzhokhar Tsaranev, now 22, has been sentenced to death for his role in the attack.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)