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[h=4]Officials: Firearms used in killing spree were purchased legally[/h]Man, woman kill 14, injure 17 in shooting rampage
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Police said a man and a woman suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting in San Bernardino, California were killed in a shootout with police. A third possible suspect was being detained. A motive for the shooting has not been reported. (Dec. 2) AP
Syed R. Farook.(Photo: none)
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Syred R. Farook, one of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>two suspects in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a murderous shooting<span style="color: Red;">*</span>spree that left 14 people dead,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>bought two of the handguns in his arsenal but another unidentified person<span style="color: Red;">*</span>purchased<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the two assault-style weapons used in the massacre,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a federal law enforcement official said Thursday.
Farook, a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>28-year-old health inspector, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, the woman<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with whom he he lived, were shot and killed during dramatic gunbattle with police hours after their<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rampage during a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>holiday party at the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Inland Regional Center on Wednesday.
The guns were legally purchased separately at gun dealers in San Diego and Corona within the past three years, said the official who is not authorized to comment publicly.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Investigators were looking more closely at the transactions involving the two assault-style rifles which were purchased by another person who was not immediately identified.
Armored vehicles surround an SUV following a shootout in San Bernardino, Calif., Dec. 2, 2015.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: KTTV via AP)
The official said that buyer is the focus of an ongoing investigation into his possible relationship with the suspects. It was not immediately clear whether that person had been located and questioned, the official said.
The official said investigators also are examining materials seized from the suspects’ home which authorities feared could have been components for explosive devices.
While there was fear that the suspects had lobbed explosives at police during a pursuit of the attackers’ vehicle, the official said those devices were found to be inert.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Authorities, however, were still examining a potential explosive device found at the scene of the shooting.
At least 21<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people were injured in the melee, including two who remain in critical condition and three in fair condition at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Loma Linda University Medical Center.
The suspects' motives<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is unknown, although police quote some witnesses as saying<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Farook had attended the annual holiday party, left in a fit of anger, and returned with Malik.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The couple —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who met online and who became acquainted in Saudi Arabia —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>were decked out in body armor and armed with assault rifles and handguns.
Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said that following the late-morning massacre, the pair fled in a dark-colored SUV but were shortly tracked down by police, who riddled the vehicle with bullets. Both Farook and Malik died at the scene.
Burguan said that although initial reports indicated that as many as three shooters may have been involved, "we are confident now" that Farook and Malik acted alone. He said Farook, and Malik were "either boyfriend-girlfriend or husband and wife." He said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Farook was born in the United States but he did not know<span style="color: Red;">*</span>not know Malik’s background.
The<span style="color: Red;">*</span>FBI is investigating possible motives, including<span style="color: Red;">*</span>workplace violence and terrorism, according to David Bowdich, assistant director of the bureau’s Los Angeles office. He did not elaborate.
In Washington, President Obama said Thursday that "it is possible that this was terrorist related, but we just don't know."<span style="color: Red;">*</span>He said there may have been<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"mixed motives," including<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a workplace-related issue,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>which would make it more complicated to find out why they did it.
The president<span style="color: Red;">*</span>also said the nation<span style="color: Red;">*</span>should<span style="color: Red;">*</span>address the issue of access to firearms.
"It is going to be important for all of us, including our legislatures, to see what we can do to make sure that when individuals decide they want to do somebody harm, we are going to make it a little harder to do it," he said. "Because right now, it is just too easy."
"We are going to have to search ourselves as a society to make sure we can take basic steps that would make it harder —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>not impossible, but harder —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>for individuals to get access to weapons."
Chris Nwadike, who worked with Farook as a restaurant inspector associated with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, said that Wednesday's meeting was one of two "general education" meetings the department holds each year. The meeting was routine, in which employees were to be given employee rewards and other recognition.
USA TODAY
Timeline of events in San Bernardino, Calif., shooting
Nwadike said he was sitting at a table with Farook, who he knew from around the office. He said that at some point, more than 30 minutes before the shooting, he and his co-workers noticed Farook had left. They noticed because the meeting organizers were handing out "clickers" —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the sort that might be used to register votes during a presentation —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and someone asked that they leave one for Farook. He also said Farook left something behind at his seat.
"He left and he didn't come back," Nwadike said.
Nwadike said the meeting was on a 15-minute break when the shooting happened. Many of the participants were outside of the meeting room. Nwadike said he was in the bathroom. "If everybody was there, it could have been a total massacre," he said.
While in the bathroom, Nwadike heard the shooting begin. He heard one especially loud boom and thought that something had fallen.
"The very first one was a big blast; we thought that something may have fallen down," he said. "That was followed by gunfire. He said that he and the others in the bathroom laid down on the floor and remained there until police officers escorted them out of the building. He did not go back into the meeting room. He said he had no idea how many shots were fired; "there were quite a number of shots."
Nwadike said he did not see any sign that Farook was upset, and did not see him argue with anyone.
"I have not at any time noticed any sign that he would do anything like that," he said. "I can't understand why."
Another co-worker, Patrick Baccari, said he also was sitting at the same table as Farook, who suddenly disappeared, leaving his coat on his chair. Baccari said when the shooting started, he sought refuge in a bathroom and suffered minor wounds from shrapnel slicing through the wall.
Baccari described Farook as reserved and said he showed no signs of unusual behavior. Earlier this year he traveled to Saudi Arabia and returned with a wife, later growing a beard, Baccari said.
One officer was wounded in the ensuing pursuit and shootout with police, but the injuries were not life-threatening.
It was the nation's deadliest shooting since a gunman killed 26 people in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012.
Officers searching the building later found an explosive device that had not detonated.
Farook's brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, said at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) press conference Wednesday evening: "On behalf of my family we all are shocked. We are completely shocked and had no idea."
Authorities are tracing the origin of the four weapons recovered — two assault-style rifles and two handguns — from the two dead suspects, a federal law enforcement official told USA TODAY. The official, who is not authorized to comment, said investigators are focusing on an incident, perhaps a workplace dispute, before the shooting in which one person became angry and left a gathering of employees. The person later returned with two others.
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San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan holds press conference at 10:15pm Wednesday, (Pacific time) December 2, 2015, and tells press that one of the shooters was a county employee and the other a woman. Video by Tom Tingle/Arizona Republic Tom Tingle/The Republic
It was not immediately clear, according to the official, what prompted the apparent dispute. And it was not known whether the person who left the gathering had gone to the location to scout the target as part of a detailed plan to launch the attack.
Accounts of the pre-shooting dispute were being provided to investigators by witnesses who appeared to have consistent recollections of the events as they unfolded, the official said.
Federal authorities were not ruling out the possibility of terrorism, the official said, largely because of what appears to be detailed planning involved in the attack, including the number of suspects involved, the tactical clothing worn by the suspects and the attempted plan for escape. The involvement of a woman in the attacks also marks a very rare turn for similar domestic shootings, which typically involve male gunmen.
As police closed in, the suspects hurled what initially appeared to be explosives from their SUV — but they may not have been bombs, just items disguised as explosives in an attempt to distract pursuing investigators.
Another federal official who also could not comment publicly said no explosive devices were recovered in the vehicle where the bodies of two of the suspects were recovered. Authorities, however, were examining an apparent explosive device at the location of the mass shooting.
"The information we have is they came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission," Burguan said, adding that they were "equipped to get away."
Many of the injured were taken from the building on stretchers and strapped into gurneys. Loma Linda University Medical Center and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center said they received multiple patients from the shooting.
Marybeth Field, president and CEO of the Inland Regional Center, said the incident took place in a conference area that a county group had rented. She said about 25 employees work in the building, which provides services for people with developmental disabilities.
Terry Petit said his daughter texted to say she was hiding after gunfire erupted at the social services facility where she works. Petit choked back tears as he read the texts for reporters outside the center. He said she wrote: "People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office."
Many area residents and concerned friends and family members congregated about a quarter-mile from the scene of the attack, near a gas station. Meredith Wiresinger said she had two friends in the center when the tragedy took place.
"Thankfully they are OK. But you can see the fear from people who don't know what has happened to their loved ones," she said. "You hear about tragedy, but today we are seeing it in real life and on people's faces. They've got to get these guns off the street."
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Survivors of the mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif. were reunited with family after being interviewed by authorities. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY
Wilbert Aquino picked up his 10-year-old daughter from a nearby school.
"We are just going to go home and stay there and wait until we hear more," he said. "Thankfully, she is OK, but I'm sure the kids are scared."
California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered that flags at the Capitol be lowered to half-staff.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families and everyone affected by the brutal attack," Brown said in a statement. "California will spare no effort in bringing these killers to justice."
According to its Facebook page, 670 Inland Regional Center staff members provide services to more than 30,200 people in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The center's clients range from toddlers to seniors.
In Washington, a White House spokesperson said President Obama had been briefed by Homeland Security adviser Lisa Monaco about the shooting.
The president told CBS News<span style="color: Red;">*</span>we do know that "we have a pattern of mass shootings" in the United States that have no parallel in other countries in the world. He again called for "common-sense gun safety laws" and improved background checks
"It doesn't happen with the same kind of frequency in other countries," Obama said.
Contributing: Mike James and John Bacon, in McLean, Va.;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Brett Kelman and Anna Rumer, The (PalmSprings, Calif.) Desert Sun, reported from San Bernardino; Liz Szabo and Brad Heath from McLean,Va.
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Raw: Families notified loved ones died in San Bernardino shooting | 00:53Family members leave the building after being told their loved ones were killed in a mass shooting in San Bernardino. 14 people were killed. Police say Syed Farook and Tashreen Malik opened fire at the Inland Regional Center. Video by azcentral.com azcentral.com
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Somber scene near California shooting | 01:11Jefferson Graham reports from San Bernardino, California, where survivors and family members at Wednesday's mass shooting have been bussed to a local community center. Sean Fujiwara
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.San Bernardino Police Chief names shooting suspects | 02:35San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan says the two suspects in the Wednesday morning shooting are named Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik. Both died in a shootout with police. (Dec. 3) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Shooting survivors reunited with family | 01:26Survivors of the mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif. were reunited with family after being interviewed by authorities. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Speaker leads a moment of silence before lighting tree | 00:47Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, asked for a moment of silence for the victims of the San Bernardino shooting, during the Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony Wednesday evening in Washington. Daniel Farber-Ball / USA TODAY
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Police chief names shooting suspects | 02:33San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan says the two suspects in the Wednesday morning shooting are named Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik. Both died in a shootout with police. (Dec. 3) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Bystanders react to California shooting | 00:34USA TODAY talks to bystanders on the scene of the San Bernardino mass shooting. Jefferson Graham reports. Sean Fujiwara, USA TODAY
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Worry, confusion for families after Calif. shooting | 01:08As many as three gunmen believed to be wearing military-style gear opened fire Wednesday at a Southern California social services center, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than a dozen others, authorities said. (Dec. 2) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Emotional dad: Daughter 'hiding' from shooter | 01:23Relatives describe hearing from loved ones from inside a social services facility in San Bernardino, California where police are responding to an active shooter. (Dec. 2) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Search for motive in San Bernardino shooting | 01:38Authorities are searching for a motive for Wednesday's shooting in Southern California. Police say the mass shooting could have been terrorism, or the result of a workplace dispute. (Dec. 3) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Raw: Victims treated in Calif. shooting incident | 01:33Aerial video shows victims being treated and taken to ambulances following reports of an active shooter situation in San Bernardino, California. (Dec. 2) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Police chief: 14 dead in Calif. shooting | 01:45The San Bernardino, California chief of police says at least 14 people were killed and at least 14 more were injured in a mass shooting at a social services center. Police were still searching for as many as three gunman. (Dec. 2) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Obama: 'We have a pattern now of mass shootings' | 01:52President Barack Obama is calling Wednesday's mass shooting in Southern California part of a pattern of shootings in the U.S. that "has no parallel anywhere else in the world." (Dec. 2) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.'Moment of Silence' at DC Tree Lighting | 00:49The mass shooting in California has intruded on a normally festive event in Washington - the annual lighting of the Capitol Christmas Tree. (Dec. 2) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.San Bernardino Police search for suspect after mass shooting | 00:33Officers in San Bernardino, Calif., responded to an active shooter situation. Multiple people are dead and injured.
Video provided by Newsy Newslook
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Police: 2 Suspects Down, 1 Other Detained | 01:38Police said a man and a woman suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting in San Bernardino, California were killed in a shootout with police. A third possible suspect was being detained. A motive for the shooting has not been reported. (Dec. 2) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Mass shooting reported at California Social Services facility | 00:41Police in the Southern California city of San Bernardino were responding Wednesday to reports of a mass shooting at a social services facility. USA TODAY
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.Police respond to active shooter in Calif. | 00:56Police in San Bernardino, Calif. were responding to reports of an active shooter at a social services facility. (Dec. 2) AP
MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.San Bernardino County Sheriff confirms active shooter | 01:40Bloomberg's Mark Crumpton reports that there's an active shooter near Orange Show Rd. and Waterman Ave., the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a tweet, citing the San Bernardino Police Department. Bloomberg
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