No details have been released so far on the victims, in particular whether any of the Inland facility’s staff were among those killed.
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Authorities say multiple people were shot and some were killed Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
Farook had a profile set up on iMilap.com, which describes itself as “a site for people with disabilities and second marriage”. Co-worker Patrick Baccari told AP that Farook went to S.Arabia for about a month in the spring. The police chief said that the two attackers were husband and wife.
At least 14 people were killed on Wednesday afternoon when a couple armed with assault weapons opened fire at a social services agency Christmas event.
The couple then escaped in a dark-colored SUV.
A police cruiser pursued it. Farook was a devout Muslim but rarely discussed his religion at work.
The pursuit ended back in San Bernardino, about 2 miles from Inland Regional. “There’s possibility, but we don’t know yet”, he said.
Federal and local law enforcement authorities converged on the centre and searched for the shooter or shooters.
But Burguan said this was unlikely to be a crime committed in the heat of the moment.
“We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world, and there are some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass-shootings, but to improve the odds that they don’t happen as frequently – common-sense gun safety laws, stronger background checks”. The chief said he knew of no possible motive for the shooting spree.
Seventeen people were wounded, according to authorities.
The information about Farook leaving the party early led investigators to a home in Redlands where he is listed as a resident, Burguan said.
However, he added that there did seem to be “some degree of planning involved” in the attack.
And they apparently meant to inflict more damage.
A bag believed to belong to the shooters was found inside the conference room.
There was a holiday and work function for the San Bernardino Department of Public Health going on at the time, officials said. Two coworkers who had worked with Farook for the past three years stated that he rarely started a conversation, but he was well liked among his peers.
The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the killings as Farook’s brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, said he had no clue what prompted the carnage.
“I have no idea why he would he do something like this. I am in shock that something like this could happen”, said Mr Khan.
They were wearing tactical-style clothing that was “loaded with magazines for a gunfight”, she said Wednesday.
The grandmother became concerned when she saw reports of a shooting at Farook’s workplace. But we never engaged him in conversation.
Another individual, who may be a third suspect, was detained by police after being caught running from the scene of the shoot-out. They died in the shootout, which involved 21 officers.
Police are hunting three suspects, possibly in military dress, whilst people continue to be evacuated from nearby buildings. One was a DPMS A-15 and one was a Smith & Wesson M&P15, he said.
The president and CEO of the social services center, Maybeth Feild, said the focus was on a building that houses at least 25 employees as well as a library and conference center. Later police came and escorted people out of their offices.
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Loma Linda University Medical Centre received four patients in its trauma centre and expected three more, spokeswoman Briana Pastorino said. Two of them are in critical but stable condition, two others in fair condition and one is still being accessed.
