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The wife of the man who killed 49 people in a gay nightclub in Florida in June has been arrested, the FBI in San Francisco said Monday.

Noor Salman was arrested at a home where she lived with her 4-year-old son near San Francisco, according to news reports. Her husband, Omar Mateen, carried out the attack, which was the worst mass shooting in US history.

Salman faces charges of aiding and abetting, and obstruction of justice, news reports said. She is scheduled to appear in federal court in Oakland, California on Tuesday, Florida's attorney general said on Twitter.

Salman initially told the FBI that she had tried to stop Mateen from launching the attack and said Mateen, who was shot dead at the scene, had abused her.

In addition to the 49 deaths, 53 were injured in the attack at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The FBI has called it both an extremist attack and a hate crime.

Salman's lawyer was quoted by CBS and other media outlets as saying Salman had no knowledge of the attack ahead of time.

"We believe it is misguided and wrong to prosecute her and that it dishonours the memories of the victims to punish an innocent person," said Linda Moreno in a statement quoted by multiple media outlets.

By Gretel Johnston