The younger brother of Sitora Yusufiy, the ex-wife of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen, said he was not close to Mateen.
EDISON -- The younger brother of Sitora Yusufiy, the ex-wife of Orlando gunman Omar Mateen, said his sister, who now lives around Boulder, Colo., is "doing pretty good."
"She's a strong woman, as you can tell, and that's all I can tell you guys," said the man who would not give his name but identified himself as Yusufiy's brother said, standing outside on the sidewalk with a large black dog on a leash.
The brother also lives in the house that, according to tax records, belong to Yusufiy's parents.
The brother said he was never very close to Mateen, the man who opened fire on a packed crowd at a gay nightclub Sunday morning, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others.
But the brother said he was in disbelief that Mateen could have committed the largest mass shooting in U.S. history.
"It's a tragedy and I feel bad for all those 50 people who lost their families -- their sons, their daughters," the brother said.
The brother said his sister met Mateen online.
Yusufiy thought him to be "a funny charmer" and married Mateen in 2009. Six weeks into the marriage, Yusufiy said Mateen, who once seemed nice, started displaying "erratic" behavior, according to The New York Times.
Mateen became verbally and physically abusive, the Times reported. She was not allowed to contact her parents or go anywhere besides her job as an employee at a day care. She was forced to give Mateen her paycheck.
In 2009, Yusufiy's parents caught wind of the abusive relationship and flew to Florida to pick up their daughter.
"To be affiliated with someone who could do something like this," Yusufiy said. "It shook me. It shook me. It is going to take some time to process this."
Katie Park may be reached at kpark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @kathspark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.