THE wife of Omar Mateen, who committed a massacre in the Pulse nightclub in 2016, reportedly told the FBI that she knew about his plot beforehand - and did nothing to stop it.
Noor Salman - whose husband gunned down 49 people in the club - told investigators that she "knew that her husband was going to attack the Pulse nightclub" when he left the house on the night of June 11 last year, according to documents obtained by USA Today.
"I knew later, when I could not get ahold of him that my fears had come true and he did what he said he was going to do," Salman said, according to the newspaper.
"I was in denial and I could not believe that the father of my child was going to hurt other people."
The wife also said she was warned repeatedly about the specific location and timing of the attack.
"How upset are people going to be when it gets attacked?" Mateen asked his wife at one point while they were driving by the club, according to her statement.
Salman also witnessed her husband browsing the Pulse website and declaring "this is my target."
On the night before one of the most devastating mass shootings in US history, Salman said her husband loaded up on firearms and ammunition.
"This was the time that he was going to do something bad," she said.
Before leaving the house Mateen told his wife, "This is the one day."
She apologised at the end of her statement.
"I'm very sorry I lied to the FBI. These are my words."
Salman is facing charges of aiding a terrorist organisation and obstruction of justice at her trial to be held in March.
Mateen opened fire at around 2am on June 12 in the Orlando night spot, killing 48 and wounding 58 others.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished here with permission.
