Wife of Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen arrested by FBI

THE wife of the Orlando nightclub shooter was arrested by the FBI on Monday in connection with the massacre, US officials have confirmed.

Orlando shooter Omar Mateen is pictured with his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, and their son in an undated Facebook image.

THE wife of the Orlando nightclub shooter, who was extensively questioned by federal agents in the days after the massacre, was arrested by the FBI on Monday in connection with the attack, US officials have confirmed.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Noor Salman was taken into custody Monday morning in the San Francisco area and is facing charges in Florida including obstruction of justice.

A Twitter post from the United States attorney’s office in Orlando said Ms Salman will make her initial appearance Tuesday morning in Oakland, California.

Noor Salman, wife of Pulse shooter Omar Mateen, was arrested today in CA on federal charges filed in the Middle District of Fla.

— USAO Middle Florida (@USAO_MDFL) January 16, 2017

Salman will make her IA at the federal courthouse in Oakland, CA at 9:30 a.m. on Tues. 1/17/17. No further info available at this time.

— USAO Middle Florida (@USAO_MDFL) January 16, 2017

The official was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ms Salman’s lawyer, Linda Moreno, told ABC News she “had no foreknowledge, nor could she predict what Omar Mateen intended to do that tragic night”.

“We believe it is misguided and wrong to prosecute her and that it dishonours the memories of the victims to punish an innocent person.”

Noor Salman moved to the San Francisco area after her husband, Omar Mateen, was killed in a shootout with SWAT team members during the June 12 massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

FBI agents repeatedly questioned Ms Salman in the aftermath of the shooting about whether she had advance knowledge of her husband’s plans. She told The New York Times in an interview published in November that she was unaware that Mateen planned to shoot up the nightclub.

He was the only shooter, and by the time a three-hour standoff between Mateen and law enforcement had ended, 49 patrons were killed and another 53 people required hospitalisation.

Mateen pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a 911 call to emergency officials during the standoff. He also made a series of Facebook posts and searches before and during the attack.

The Times first reported on the arrest.

Last month, Ms Salman filed a petition in a California court to change the name of the son she had with Mateen.

The Pulse Nightclub massacre is the deadliest mass shooting in US history.

Omar Mateen in an undated social media photo. Picture: MySpace / AP

Omar Mateen, 29, a US citizen of Afghani descent from Port St. Lucie, Florida. Picture: AFP / myspace.com