Orlando gunman ‘sent wife text messages’, posted to Facebook during massacre
Orlando shooter Omar Mateen allegedly sent text messages to his wife Noor Mateen during the massacre at Pulse nightclub.
A grand jury investigation has been launched into claims that the Orlando gunman contacted his wife during the mass shooting on Sunday, according to ABC News.
However, it remains unclear whether Noor Mateen was aware of the carnage her husband was inflicting on club-goers when she received the messages.
It is also yet to be confirmed what the messages said and it is still unknown what – if anything – she knew about the attack before it took place.
Officials previously stated that she may have known something about the massacre in advance – but claimed she tried to talk him out of the assault.
Noor Mateen has been interviewed by the FBI repeatedly following the attack, as authorities try to verify claims she had prior knowledge of her husband’s plans.
She was also apparently with her husband when he recently bought ammunition and a holster, sources familiar with the investigation said,
The couple also visited Disney World together, though authorities are unclear if it was a family trip or if Mateen was there to case a possible target.
It has also been revealed that Mateen – who was known to authorities for his extremist beliefs – vented on Facebook before and during the massacre.
“America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state,” the gunman wrote, according to the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
“You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes – now taste the Islamic state vengeance.”
In his final post, he warned: “In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic state in the USA.”
The messages were described in a letter from committee Chairman Ron Johnson to Mark Zuckerberg, asking the Facebook CEO to provide “all Facebook data on Mr. Mateen’s activities on his account and any affiliated Facebook accounts.”
In the middle of the mass shooting – during which he killed 49 people – Mateen also called 911 to pledge allegiance to the terror group ISIS.
“I did it for ISIS. I did it for the Islamic State,” he declared.
