The widow of a gunman, Oman Mateen, who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub named Pulse in Florida, has been acquitted of two charges. The Jurors in Orlando’s courts did not find Noor Salman guilty in obstruction of justice and for helping Mateen with the material in shooting.
A jury of 12 reportedly gave the verdict after contemplating for 12 hours. Federal prosecutors said Salman had prior information of the crime, and she aided her husband with material support. A verdict against her could have put the 31-year-old Salman behind bars for the lifetime. Her acquittal had left her in tears post the verdict, Al Jazeera quoted The Orlando Sentinel as saying.
During the attack at Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016, Mateen was reported to have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in a call to an emergency police hotline. He was killed in a gunfight between Orlando police during the attack. Apart from 49 deaths, another 53 people were injured. At this time Salman had lived with Mateen in a coastal city south of Orlando.
Salman had said in an interview with the New York Times, months after the incident, that she knew her husband watched ISIL-related videos but added that she was unaware of his intent to kill people in the club. She also had said that Mateen would physically abuse her.