Noor Salman, the wife of Omar Mateen, told investigators that she knew what her husband was planning and tried to talk him out of it.
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A US official briefed on the case said Tuesday that the FBI is investigating reports that Omar Mateen had been a regular at the nightclub and had used gay dating apps.
The second wife of Orlando gunman Omar Mateen has stayed mostly silent in the aftermath of the her husband’s rampage at the gay nightclub that left 49 dead.
The American gunman who launched a murderous assault on a gay nightclub in Orlando was radicalised by militant propaganda, officials said, as they grappled with the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. Salman, who is 30, grew up in the Chicago suburbs and lived in the East Bay area, in northern California, before moving to Florida with Mateen. Now, the shooter’s current wife, Noor Mateen, has come forward with a possibly self-incriminating statement.
The official said the Federal Bureau of Investigation has Mateen’s phone and will try to use data from it to see if he had visited the club before.
Salman deleted all of her social media accounts shortly after news of the shooting broke, and has not given interviews to the press.
The FBI has said it was also exploring whether anti-gay bigotry prompted the attack on the popular gay nightclub.
Salman said she was with Mateen as he bought ammo and a holster.
“Investigators and the Federal Bureau of Investigation director right now say this guy seems to be very confused, with unusual affiliations that are inconsistent with different terrorist groups, and there may be a psychological health issue going on here as well”, Carrie says.
Some of Van Horn’s friends then called him away and told him they didn’t want him talking to Mateen because “they thought he was a odd person”.
Salman told federal investigators that she drove Mateen to Pulse about a week before Sunday’s attack because he wanted to scout the location as a potential target.
President Barack Obama was scheduled to travel to the scene of the attack in Orlando on Thursday.
Was the mass shooting fueled by homophobia?
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Mateen’s father, Mir Seddique, has suggested it might have something to do with Mateen seeing two men kissing a few months earlier, which had angered him.
