Omar Mateen’s wife, Noor Zahi Salman, has told the FBI that she was with him when he bought ammunition and a holster, several officials familiar with the case said. She told the FBI that she once drove him to the gay nightclub, Pulse, because he wanted to scope it out.
Mateen opened fire at Pulse early Sunday, leaving 49 dead and 53 injured. Twenty-seven victims remained hospitalized Tuesday. Six were in critical condition, according to hospital officials who said the death toll was still at risk of rising because one or two of those patients were “profoundly ill.”
Authorities are considering filing criminal charges against Noor for failing to tell them what she knew before the brutal attack, law enforcement officials say, but no decision has been made.
Public records show Salman was a student at the now-defunct Heald College-Concord. Facebook accounts for her relatives show they are Palestinian. But they don’t appear to have been strictly religious. Salman and her sisters did not wear the hijab, according to posts, in contrast to ISIS’s requirements for women. Mateen’s ex-wife has stated that Mateen was not very religious when they were married.
Salman allegedly tried to dissuade him from attacking the club, NBC News reports, citing officials. She has not yet been charged in relation to the attack, but NBC News and ABC News report authorities are considering charges.