The wife of the Pulse nightclub shooter told the FBI that she knew about the attack her husband was planning on the gay club in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Noor Salman, 31, the wife of Omar Mateen, said she “knew an attack was close” in the days before her husband killed 49 people in June 2016 and wished she could “go back to tell them” about it before it was too late.
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“I am sorry for what happened,” she wrote. “I wish I could go back and tell his family and the police what he was going to do.”
Salman allegedly made the remarks hours after the mass shooting. The FBI and local police say she gave a written statement that authorities believe proves she knew what Mateen was planning.
Salman was arrested in January and now faces charges of aiding a foreign terrorist organization and obstruction of justice. She could testify in a hearing as early as Friday, her attorney said.
FBI Special Agent Ricardo Enriquez says that Salman told him she saw Mateen looking at photos of Pulse nightclub online on June 10, 2016. Mateen told her that was his target, and she realized the attack would happen soon, Enriquez said.
Salman’s lawyers said should not be considered by a jury because she was not in custody at the time she made the statements, had not been arrested.
Salman’s trial is scheduled to begin March 1 in Orlando’s federal courthouse.
