Report: Grand jury convened to decide if Orlando gunman’s wife will be charged

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (WSVN) — Fox News is reporting that federal officials are convening a grand jury to decide if the wife of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen should be charged with being an accessory to the attack.

7News was the only station there as Salman returned home late Monday night, surrounded by police, to collect her belongings.

As she arrived, it appeared the couple’s son was in the backseat of the car. She was also with an unidentified man who said, “No camera please. No, no, no,” as he exited the car.

Wednesday morning, Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, appeared at the home of the shooter’s sister in Fort Pierce. Sources said Salman could be staying there. 7News cameras later captured sheriff’s deputies entering the residence.

After a red Mercedes-Benz sped away from the shooter’s house, Tuesday night, with a woman’s face covered inside, Noor Salman has not since been seen. “I cannot say where she has gone, but she is not around here,” said Seddique Mateen, Wednesday morning. “I just want you to don’t sweat, don’t waste your time here. Let us live!”

According to reports, surveillance cameras captured Salman accompanying her husband as he purchased ammunition. She is reportedly cooperating with the FBI, and according to People Magazine, she said Mateen was scoping out Disney Springs and Pulse Nightclub before the attack.

Mateen’s father said the entire family is cooperating with the FBI and that he blames ISIS for influencing his son. “They’ve framed all over the world, so it is very sad news,” he said. “If there was no ISIS group, probably I would have my son and the other [49] people who passed away.”

Sources said FBI investigators do not think Salman was a co-conspirator in Sunday morning’s massacre at Pulse nightclub, but they believe she knew about her husband’s interest in carrying out a jihadist attack.

According to an Orlando TV station, Mateen called a producer during the Orlando attack and said, “I’m the shooter. It’s me.” He added that he “did it for ISIS.”

NBC News had reported that Salman tried to talk her husband out of the attack and that she was with him when he visited Pulse Nightclub.

Speaking with reporters, U.S. Attorney Lee Bentley did not confirm whether or not Salman will be facing any charges. “I’m not one to speculate with respect to any charges that might be brought or, indeed, as to whether any charges will be brought,” he said.

Salman used a locksmith to get into her apartment after, Fort Pierce Police said, it was burglarized sometime after the FBI finished their search. “We’re treating this like we would treat any other burglary that would involve fingerprinting, photos, and processing any other burglary we would have in the city,” said Fort Pierce Police Sgt. David Cuti.

There are pictures from the Dailymail.com that show the inside of the apartment. There are family photos and a child’s balloon in the living room.

Meanwhile, the FBI investigation has spread all the way to the West Coast and California.

In video obtained exclusively by Dailymail.com, FBI agents spent about an hour and a half inside Omar Mateen’s in-laws’ home.

Salman’s romance with Mateen began online, according to a neighbor, and marriage documents show she was born in the U.S. while her parents were born in Palestine.

After the shooting, multiple men have come forward to say they had seen Mateen at Pulse Nightclub for months. One man told the LA Times he was chatting with Mateen on a gay dating app for almost a year.

He said the man he was chatting with, who he believed was the shooter, didn’t mention having a wife or child and repeatedly said he wanted to meet in person.

When Mateen’s ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, was asked whether he could be gay, she said, “I don’t know.”

Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, commented about his son and homosexuality. “Nobody has the right to say anything to anyone. This is a free country,” his father said.

However, Mateen’s father would not talk much about his daughter-in-law. When asked if he thought she should be arrested if she knew about the attack, he responded, “Sir, I don’t know. Don’t ask me. I don’t know nothing yet. I don’t know, so I will see what happened.”

Mateen’s father then went on to say, “I know [where she is] but right now, if you are asking me about my daughter-in-law, I am not going to have an answer for you.”

CBS News has also reported that Salman has taken a polygraph test.

When asked if Salman had any indication her husband was going to do this, she left without saying a word.

Mateen’s father allowed reporters in during the day. However, during the 5 p.m. hour, Tuesday, he called the police and had the media leave is property.

A law enforcement official told CNN that Salman may not have known about the specific plans about the Orlando attack, and Mateen may have lied to her about where he was going the night of the shooting. However, she did know about her husband’s interest in carrying out a jihadist attack.

The FBI seized documents, a cellphone, a smartphone and a digital camera from Mateen’s home. They found searches for jihadist propaganda on these devices.

CNN also reported that two weeks before the shooting, Mateen donated blood in St. Lucie County.

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