Orlando shooter reportedly texted with his wife during attack

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

last updated 17 June 2016

In the midst of his massacre inside Pulse nightclub, shooter Omar Mateen texted his wife, asking her if she had seen the news, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Mateen texted Noor Salman at around 4 a.m. Sunday morning, roughly two hours after the rampage began, the source said. Salman responded at one point by telling Mateen she loved him, and another law enforcement source said she tried calling her husband multiple times during the attack, but he didn't answer. In addition to texting Salman, Mateen searched Facebook for "Pulse Orlando" and "shooting" and posted messages in support of the Islamic State.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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