Investigators believe the female shooter in California, Tashfeen Malik, posted on Facebook during the deadly attack, pledging allegiance to Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, US media reported Friday.
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There’s no evidence the group directed the woman, Tashfeen Malik, and her husband Syed Rizwan Farook, to launch the attacks, which killed 14 and wounded 21, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
The FBI refocused its efforts on these individuals earlier this year in response to a shift in tactics by the Islamic State, law enforcement officials said.
“We don’t know if this was the intended target or if there was something that triggered him to do this immediately”, said David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles office.
Bowdich also said the Federal Bureau of Investigation was examining crushed cellphones found near the shooting scene.
Bowdich said the FBI hoped examination of data retrieved from the cell phones and other electronic devices seized in the investigation would lead to a motive for the attack. “He was married, he had a daughter and past year he made $77,000”, said Gasser Shehata, 42, who attended the same mosque as Farook.
Authorities said that the couple sprayed as many as 75 rounds into the room before fleeing and had more than 1,600 rounds left when they were killed.
Investigators continue to look into the lives and pasts of Farook and Malik, of whom little is known. He had reportedly met Pakistan-born Malik online.
US officials said Friday that they believe that the San Bernardino, California, massacre is connected to ISIS.
Aamaq, a news agency affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, says the San Bernardino shooters were “supporters” of the extremist group, though it stopped short of claiming responsibility for the attack. “Of course, we are in shock”.
Two Pakistani officials said Malik was from the Layyah district in southern Punjab province, but moved to Saudi Arabia with her father 25 years ago.
Christian Nwadike, who worked with Farook, told CBS News that his co-worker had been different since he returned from Saudi Arabia.
Chesley added that engaging with Internet content about radical Islam is not enough to prove that his client was a terrorist, explaining, “I’ve checked out a Britney Spears post, and I hate Britney Spears music”.
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Bowdich offered few details about the terrorism angle during the 10-minute conference, saying only that there were “a number of pieces of evidence that has essentially pushed us off the cliff to say we are now investigating this as an act of terrorism”.
