Orlando gunman’s in-laws’ home RAIDED by FBI agents after wife revealed she ‘knew about the attack and pleaded with him not to go through with it’
She allegedly acknowledged driving Omar Mateen to the Pure nightclub at least once before her husband launched the attack
THE family home of Orlando gunman's wife, Noor Zahi Salman, has been raided by the FBI after she revealed she knew about his 'plans' in advance.
Officers arrived at the address, in Rodeo, California, at around 3.15pm local time Tuesday.
Three FBI agents reportedly entered the house - leaving after an hour and a half without comment.
Salman's mother, Zahi, 50, still lives at the house, which was left to her by her husband Ekbal, 56, following his death last year.
This is the latest in a dramatic day of developments, which include the revelation that Salman, 30, knew her husband was planning an attack and pleaded with him to not go through with it.
During interviews with investigators, Noor Salman allegedly acknowledged driving Mateen to the Pure nightclub at least once before her husband launched the attack.
The massacre - the deadliest mass shooting in U.S history - left 49 dead and 53 others wounded.
The federal official - who was not authorised to give their identity - said authorities were seeking to substantiate the wife's account, along with other witness reports that Mateen had frequented the club.
Salman also reportedly claimed to accompanying Mateen when he bought ammunition and a gun-holster.
It is unclear whether she will face criminal charges, as authorities have yet to work out whether she possessed enough knowledge of Mateen's plot.
She also told investigators their April trip to Disney World was a family trip. However, authorities believe Mateen was scouting out the amusement park for a future attack.
Unlike Mateen's first wife, Sitora Yusufiy, who came forward publicly to talk about his alleged abusive behaviour and sexual orientation, Salman has not spoken out publicly.
The FBI's focus on Salman and other family members if part of an extensive effort to construct a timeline of his activities in the weeks leading up the massacre.
She reportedly married Mateen in 2013 and is believed to be the mother of his three-year-old son.
She grew up in the Chicago suburbs and lived in northern California before moving to Florida with Mateen.
President Obama re-asserted his belief today that Mateen was not directed by a terror organisation, even though the shooter expressed allegiance to Islamic State during a standoff with police.
Investigators believe Mateen had been in the Orlando area on and off for several days before the assault.
They are also reviewing past cases in which Mateen surfaced as a potential terrorist suspect and a suspected associate of a Vero Beach, Florida man, who later died as a suicide bomber in Syria.
In each case, including a 10-month investigation where Mateen expressed radical claims to co-workers in 2013 and an interest in martyrdom, the matters were closed without charges.
FBI Director James Comey defended the bureau's work, saying investigators found nothing to substantiate his rhetoric nor an association with the suicide bomber Moner Abu-Salha.
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