According to CNN, Mateen wanted to see if Pulse nightclub, the gay bar he targeted in Sunday morning’s attack and possibly frequented beforehand, was starting to trend on Facebook.
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On the day of the attack, Omar Mateen apparently searched Facebook for “Pulse Orlando” – the name of the nightclub where 49 people were killed – and “shooting”, Johnson, head of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, said in a letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, told reporters from the Sun-Sentinel who arrived at his home, that his daughter-in-law Noor Salman was “no longer here”.
The 29-year-old American of Afghan descent pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State (IS) group in the midst of his killing spree. His activity was detailed by U.S. Sen. Salman allegedly told investigators that she drove Mateen to the Pulse nightclub in Orlando about a week before Sunday’s shooting, suggesting that the gunman had identified the target for some time before moving forward. She also revealed to investigators that in the weeks before the mass shooting, Mateen spent thousands of dollars, including on the guns used in the attack.
Mateen was killed in a shootout at 4 a.m. after police breached the bathroom walls.
In his Facebook posts, Mateen reportedly said that America will “taste Islamic State vengeance” for the deaths of innocent women and children killed in airstrikes.
“America and Russian Federation stop bombing the Islamic state.I pledge my alliance to [Islamic State leader] abu bakr al Baghdadi.may Allah accept me”, Mateen reportedly wrote in one post.
Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey said earlier this week that there are no signs that Mateen was directly tied to any IS network, and that he was most likely just inspired by the group’s propaganda.
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CNN reports that the timing of her calls came after reports of the attacks were emerging and that she apparently knew that her husband might be responsible.
