The chairman of the Senate’s Homeland Security committee wants to know what the security contractor who employed the gunman in Sunday’s terrorist mass shooting attack in Florida knew about him.  

Among the questions is whether the FBI notified G4S Secure Solutions of its previous inquiries into Omar Mateen, the security guard whom authorities have identified as being behind the killing of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando.  

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“I appreciate G4S’s promised support of the law enforcement investigation into the attack,” Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson of Wisconsin wrote in a letter to G4S regional CEO John Kenning. “While you are not the target of the committee’s inquiry, I believe you may have information that would inform the committee’s oversight.”  

 G4S touts partnerships and contracts with a number of federal departments and agencies, as well as the availability of services to state and local governments for such functions as corrections operations. The letter requests details about what exactly Mateen did while employed for G4S.  

“As the committee examines the attack and considers legislative proposals to address homegrown extremism, I respectfully request your assistance with the committee’s inquiry given Mr. Mateen’s employment at G4S,” Johnson wrote.  

“To the maximum extent possible, please provide unclassified responses to my questions,” Johnson said in the letter, adding that classified responses can be sent through the usual channels at the Office of Senate Security, which handles such matters.  

Contact Lesniewski at NielsLesniewski@cqrollcall.com and follow him on Twitter @nielslesniewski
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