At a high school in Florida, students watched the horrors of Sept. 11, 2001, unfold on live TV. When the second hijacked airliner slammed into the World Trade Center\u2019s south tower, the class sat in stunned disbelief. But one student, a classmate recalled, \u201cstarted jumping up-and-down cheering on the terrorist.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
That was sophomore Omar Mateen, according to one of the accounts from former students in Stuart, Fla., remembering 9\/11 and the reaction by the student who, nearly 15 years later, would carry out the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.<\/p>\n
The recollections of Mateen\u2019s actions could not be independently verified, and the memories could be clouded by the years that have passed. But similar versions were detailed in separate interviews. As the snapshot in time, the recollections appear to offer yet another stitch in the wider tapestry of Mateen\u2019s life and views before Sunday\u2019s rampage, which included his pledge of loyalty to the Islamic State during a call to police during the standoff.<\/p>\n