Orlando shooter's wife may have known about attack

Noor Salman could face charges for not informing police about her husband's intentions.

Omar Mateen may have visited target of his attack with his wife according to investigators
TRT World and Agencies

Omar Mateen may have visited target of his attack with his wife according to investigators

In a new turn of events relating to the worst mass shooting in US history, it's emerged that Omar Mateen's wife might have known about his intentions to massacre people at an Orlando gay nightclub.

Quoting an unnamed law enforcement source, Reuters says Noor Salman could be charged by a federal grand jury as early as today (Wednesday) in connection with the shooting in which 49 people have been killed.

According to CNN, the charge could include misprision which is the deliberate concealment of knowledge of a pending crime.

US Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, "It appears she had some knowledge of what was going on.

She definitely is, I guess you would say, a person of interest right now and appears to be cooperating and can provide us with some important information."

FoxNews.com citing an FBI source, said prosecutors were seeking to charge Mateen's wife as an accessory to 49 counts of murder and 53 counts of attempted murder and failure to notify law enforcement about the pending attack and lying to federal agents.

NBC News said Salman told federal agents she tried to talk her husband out of carrying out the attack.

But CNN said she also accompanied her husband on trips to scout potential targets, though it's unclear how much she knew about his intentions.

"She was with him when he visited Pulse and Disney Springs, an entertainment and shopping complex, apparently in early June, the broadcaster said on its website.

TRT World and Agencies

The visits took place during the same period Mateen was purchasing the weapons used in the devastating attack, it added.

Mateen, who worked as a security guard, made his last trip to Disney Springs hours before the carnage but he travelled alone, CNN said citing law enforement officials.

Noor Salman's mother, Ekbal Zahi Salman, lives in a middle-class neighborhood of the suburban town of Rodeo, California.

One of her neighbors said Noor Salman only visited her mother once after she married Mateen.

Noor Salman's mother "didn't like him very much. He didn't allow her (Noor) to come here," said neighbor Rajinder Chahal.

He said he had spoken to Noor Salman's mother after the Orlando attack and, "She was crying, weeping."

Federal investigators say Mateen was likely self-radicalised and there was no evidence that he received any instructions or aid from outside groups such as Islamic State.

Reuters

An undated photo of Omar Mateen

Obama Slams Trump's Comments

US President Barrack Obama slammed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump who has called for banning Muslims from entering the US.

Instead, Obama has renewed push to make it harder for Americans to buy assault rifles in a bid to control shootings, in which hundreds have been killed over the years.

"If we really want to help law enforcement protect Americans from home-grown extremists, the kind of tragedies that occurred at San Bernardino and now have occurred in Orlando, there is a meaningful way to do that.

"We have to make it harder for people who want to kill Americans to get their hands on weapons of war that let them kill dozens of innocents."

People have also come forward to support the victims, which included clubgoers between the ages of 18 and 50.

Various campaigns have raised more than $5.3 million including a $1 million donation from Walt Disney Company, which has its flagship amusement resort in Orlando area.

Mateen's actions have also had repercussions in the world of finance at least as far as his employer is concerned.

The shooter worked for G4S, the world's largest security company, which has seen a decline in its share price since the attack.

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