Father of Orlando nightclub shooter says he's shocked, describes son as 'polite'

ORLANDO, Fla. (KABC) -- The father of the Orlando nightclub shooter spoke with ABC News, saying he is just as shocked as everyone else after the attack that left 49 people dead.

New York native Omar Mateen, 29, is accused of carrying out the largest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Mateen's father, Seddique Mateen, described him as a "polite" young man whose actions can't be explained. He said he didn't know anything about his son's alleged abuse of his ex-wife and had no explanation for why his "polite" boy would kill anyone.

"I couldn't believe that was my son," Seddique Mateen said. "He had a lot of love and care, and I couldn't believe that this is what he was doing. If he was alive I would ask him one question, 'Why?'"

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Seddique Mateen said his son was not an extremist, and he had seen him Saturday afternoon, just hours before the shooting.

"It makes me upset, it makes me mad that I didn't see anything unusual," he said.

Seddique Mateen said a few months ago, his son had witnessed two gay men being affectionate in public in Miami and got upset, but the father said he didn't think much more of it. In a video posted to Facebook overnight, and apparently now removed, the elder Mateen himself said he believed a "punishment" for homosexuality is for God to decide, not humans.

Seddique Mateen used to regularly travel to Canoga Park to tape a political television show about issues involving Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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Omar Khatab, owner of the television network Payam-E-Afghan, confirmed that Seddique Mateen had a show for about two years, but it ended last year.

The Washington Post reported that some of Mateen's shows, which were broadcast in Dari, were supportive of the Taliban. Khatab disagreed with that characterization, saying the programs were critical of Pakistan.

ABC News and City News Service contributed to this report.