FBI questions worshiper at Florida mosque attended by Orlando shooter Omar Mateen and the first American suicide bomber

FBI agents have questioned a worshiper at the Florida mosque attended by both Orlando shooter Omar Mateen and Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, believed to be the first American suicide bomber in Syria.

On Friday two female agents spoke to at least one of Mateen's fellow worshipers at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, which is located near to his former home.

Omar Saleh, a lawyer for the Council of American-Islamic Relations said that he sat in on the interview, which he said he had suggested to the FBI, WESH 2 reported.

Mosque: A worshiper at the tiny Islamic Center of Fort Pierce (pictured) was interviewed by FBI agents Friday. The interview was suggested by Omar Saleh, of the Council of American-Islamic Relations 

Affected: Saleh said that he wanted to show that the center has an open-door policy and that Muslims were as affected by the deaths of 49 people at Orlando gay club Pulse as non-Muslim Americans

Worshipers: Pulse shooter Omar Mateen (left) and Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha (right), one of the first American suicide bombers, both worshiped at the center. But locals said they didn't mix outside of prayers

Bomber: Abu-Salha (pictured) blew himself up in Syria for the Al-Nusra Front, which opposes ISIS. Mateen had said he stood in solidarity with Abu-Salha, but also supported ISIS, leading experts to say he was 'confused'

Saleh said that he expects it to be the first of many interviews there, and that he suggested the FBI talk to worshipers to show the Muslim community also felt a sense of loss about the 49 people killed at gay nightclub Pulse on Sunday.

He also said that he wanted to demonstrate that the mosque has an open-door policy, and that the interview took around 30 minutes.

The tiny center, which has been operating in the Florida town of Port St. Lucie for almost 30 years, has now been linked to two killers who claimed a radical interpretation of Islam as their motivation.

As well as Mateen, the tiny mosque also hosted Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, who lived in nearby Vero Beach and in 2014 became one of first - if not the first - Americans to commit a suicide bombing attack overseas when he blew himself up in Syria.

Al-Salha had sided with the Al-Nusra front, which is itself opposed to ISIS. It was ISIS that Mateen had pledged loyalty to during the attack in calls the director of the FBI called 'confused'.

Mateen had been interviewed by the FBI himself after Abu-Salha's attack, but they concluded the two were not in cahoots.

Some of the 150 regular worshipers at the Islamic center told TCPalm that it isn't a particularly conservative congregation and that both men were on the fringes of the community.

Unknown: Both Mateen and Abu-Salha were virtually unknown in the mosque, a spokesman said, as they did not socialize with the mostly older crowd that congregates there. The center has around 15 worshipers

'There's an absence in the community of older teens to people in their 40s,' spokesman Wilfredo Ruiz when asked about 29-year-old Mateen. 'He was very unusual.

'After Friday noon prayers, the older people stay and socialize. He did so very few times. Usually, as soon as prayer concluded, he got back in his car and went to work.'

And Abu-Salha was even lesser known - while his family was recognized, most only learned his name when they read about his suicide attack in 2014.

That, Ruiz says, is one of the reasons why worshipers didn't pick up on why they were such live wires until it was too late. 

'To see signs of radicalization, you need to get to know the person and what their normal conduct is,' he explained.

Evidence has emerged throughout the week suggesting that Mateen was himself gay and closeted, and that his attack on gay club Pulse may have found its roots in that as much as any religious conviction. 

And FBI director James Comey revealed Monday that while Mateen had pledged himself to ISIS, he had also claimed solidarity for with the Boston marathon bombers and Abu-Salha.

Since the Boston bombers were not inspired by ISIS and Abu-Salha opposed the 'Islamic State', this 'adds a little bit to the confusion about his motive,' Comey said.

Normal: 'To see signs of radicalization, you need to get to know the person and what their normal conduct is,' said spokesman Wilfredo Ruiz. The FBI is expected to perform more interviews at the mosque in the future

Also on Friday, it emerged that Mateen had a fractious and confused school life, in documents obtained by Reuters.

He was suspended 15 times as a student before he was transferred to a special high school for potential dropouts.

Those suspensions mostly happened in the eighth and ninth grades, and two of them - within a week of each other in May of 2001 - were listed as discipline for 'fighting with injury'.during his freshman year at Martin County High School.

Days after the second suspension he was transferred to Spectrum Junior-Senior High School, a dropout prevention center run by the district, records showed.

He returned to Martin County High in January 2002, stayed there for another year, then withdrew from mainstream high school and enrolled instead in adult education classes through April 2003.

His academic performance was mixed, a combination of high grades and failing marks, in contrast to his mostly dismal report cards from elementary school.

Attack: This is Pulse nightclub, which was the subject of Mateen's brutal attack on Sunday