It’s unclear how and where Farook and Malik met. Farook brought his then-fiance to the U.S.in July 2014, according to David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “I am told that he is US-born”, Chief Burguan told a news conference.
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President Barack Obama urged the country to take steps to reduce mass shootings, including stricter gun laws and stronger background checks. Hours later, they died in a shootout with police.
A husband and wife stormed a social services center for the disabled in San Bernardino, Calif., Wednesday, firing as many as 75 rounds from assault-style rifles at public health workers gathered for a holiday banquet. Authorities were trying to determine a motive for Wednesday’s attack, which could include workplace violence or terrorism. But he says “we all have a part to play”.
Before the fled, they left three pipe bombs tied together and attached to a remote-controlled vehicle. The sources said authorities had raided a townhouse believed used by the couple in search of electronic devices that could show if they had been browsing on Jihadist websites or social media. He seemed angry, witnesses told police. Police chief Burguan said he had been a county employee for five years.
JARROD BURGUAN: There were 12 pipe bomb-type devices found in that house or in the garage to that house. A sheriff’s deputy also was wounded from shrapnel or glass.
He said the process was slowed after the discovery of the explosives in the Inland Regional Center, and some of the bodies remained at the scene until Thursday morning.
Sgt. Vicki Cervantes, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino Police Department, said there may be as many as three shooters. Public records show the home is a possible residence of a family member of Farook.
According to CNN reports, Malik was driving the SUV while Farook was shooting from the passenger seat.
Two of the firearms have been traced back to them; they were purchased legally.
Speaking to journalists in the Oval Office, Obama said there may have been “mixed motives” behind the shooting, a factor that is complicating the investigation. He called on “all of us”, including the legislatures, to see what can be done to prevent other killings. “It will take time to get that answer”.
Farook and Malik had a 6-month-old daughter, who was with her paternal grandmother during the shooting. Alyoush said the grandmother became concerned when she had not heard from the couple and saw news of the shooting on TV.
Co-workers told The Times they were shocked to hear Farook’s name linked to the shooting.
“Our first order of business is to send our thoughts and prayers to those who have been killed”, Obama said.
“These were people that came prepared”, Burguan said. Two who were in the restroom when the bullets began to fly said he was quiet and polite, with no obvious grudges.
“We don’t know if this was the intended target or if there was something that triggered him to do this immediately. We’re not willing to go down that road yet”, he said. “We’re not willing to go down that road yet”, he said. Khan condemned the violence and said he had “absolutely no idea” why Farook would do such a thing.
The San Bernardino rampage was the deadliest U.S. gun incident since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012, in which 27 people, including the gunman, were killed.
The shooting that claimed the lives of 14 people and injured upwards of 21 happened at about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday outside the building that serves more than 31,000 individuals with developmental disabilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett also spoke about San Bernardino at the White House event, calling for a moment of silence for victims and their families.
