Noor Salman, wife of gunman Omar Mateen who carried out the deadly June 12th shooting in Orlando, Florida, was arrested by FBI agents in San Francisco today. Mateen was gunned down in a police shootout after he killed 49 people at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, leaving at least 68 people injured. Salman was taken into custody from her home outside San Francisco and faces two federal charges: aiding abetting in providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and obstruction of justice. She is expected to make her first court appearance on Tuesday in Oakland, California, and then she will be extradited to Tampa, Florida, where she was indicted.
Noor Salman underwent hours being interviewed by investigators following her husband Omar Mateen’s murderous act. Salman told authorities that she knew about Mateen’s plans to carry out the attack at Pulse nightclub, but prosecutors continued to weigh charges against her since that time. Salman met Mateen, a security guard, online. The two married on September 29, 2011 in Contra Costa County, California.
Life after unwanted attention in Central Florida
Mateen’s widow moved several times since the horrendous mass killing, eventually leaving her Fort Pierce home to move back to her native California. She filed a petition in a California court to change the name of the 4-year-old child she shared with Omar Mateen so that he would not be identified as the son of a mass killer.
In October, Salman told the New York Times that the attack left her feeling shattered and afraid, and that she often could not get out of bed.
The United States’ unfortunate history of mass shootings
Over the years, the U.S. has seen a disturbing amount of mass killings. The mass shooting carried out by 29-year-old Omar Mateen is considered to be the nation’s deadliest terror attack since 9/11.
Born in New York, Mateen had been interviewed by the FBI in 2013 and 2014, but was not deemed to be a threat. On the night of the Pulse shootings, Mateen called 911 to pledge his allegiance to ISIS. Around 2:00 a.m., he would strike fear and sadness into the hearts of Americans as he wiped out the lives of innocent people with an assault rifle and a pistol.