Omar told he is going to meet a friend.
Months after her husband unleashed the worst terror attack in the US since 2001 killing 49 people gathered in an Orlando nightclub, Noor Salman, the wife of Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen has opened her mind to New York Times.
Noor who hails from West Bank came to the US in 1985 and was the first person in the FBI’s list of ‘people to question’. In the interview, she admitted that the Federal Agency questioned her for hours before they suspected her of having the knowledge about her husband buying ammunition used for the attack.
In the interview, she denies any involvement in the attack. She also recollected the things that happened on the fateful day of shooting.
Noor said that her husband left the house on the fateful day telling her and 3-year old son that he is going to meet a friend. She also revealed that her husband was a very short tempered man who used to abuse her even in the public.
When Salman opened fire inside the Pulse, 49 people lost their lives and at least 68 got injured. This according to Noor, left her “shattered and afraid.” According to Noor, she is going through psychological trauma and is currently unable to do her duties as a mother. She told NYTs that since the attack, the family moved to three locations hoping that they won’t be followed by the media.
In the interview, Noor said she had a reason for talking publicly now: “I just want people to know that I am human. I am a mother.”
The couple first met through an Arab dating website and soon got married and Noor was pregnant within months. It was during her pregnancy period that she first experienced the brutish face of her husband, who resorted to domestic abuse.
Noor during the interview said she was afraid of ending the marriage as Mateen warned her that he would get custody of their son.
Jacquelyn Campbell, a nurse and professor at Johns Hopkins University was quoted by NYT saying “She would be totally oblivious to clues that he is getting radicalized or planning anything.”
Noor’s attorney has confirmed that she will not give any more interviews to the media hereafter as they say she is “shattered” and yet to come out of the shock.