MOSCOW (PNA/Sputnik) – Omar Mateen asked his wife, Noor Salman, in a text message whether she had seen the news, about two hours after he started the shooting, the official said on Friday.
Salman texted her husband that she loved him and tried calling Mateen several times after she suspected that he could be the shooter, but her husband did not respond, a second law enforcement official told CNN.
On June 12, 29-year-old Mateen opened fire in The Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people and injuring over 50 others. The FBI confirmed on Wednesday that the attack is being investigated as an act of terror.
In Facebook posts allegedly made prior and during the shooting but later taken down, Mateen threatened future attacks in the United States by the Islamic State (ISIL, also known as Daesh) terrorist group, banned in the US and a range of other countries.
CIA Chief John Brennan said on Thursday that the US Central Intelligence Agency did not uncover any direct connection between Omar Mateen and foreign terrorist organizations.
The shooter’s father, Seddique Mateen, said his son did not have ties to the Islamic State, according to CNN.