However, FBI Director James Comey said on Friday there is no current indication the couple were part of a larger organised network, group or cell. “There is a lot of evidence in this case that doesn’t quite make sense”.
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However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting carried out by Malik and her husband Syed Rizwan Farook, said that there was no evidence the attack was carried out by the Sunni-militant group that also claimed responsibility for the November 13 Paris attacks. All but two were county employees and co-workers of Farook. Through their official propaganda radio station on Saturday, Islamic State militants described the California shooters as “supporters” of the terror group.
“We are looking into it”, the assistant director of the FBI’s LA office David Bowdich said.
Pakistani intelligence has been assisting with the investigation, her family said.
“It is entirely possible that these two attackers were radicalized to commit this act of terror”, Obama reportedly said.
Attorneys representing Farook’s family said Friday that none of his family members had any indication either he or his wife held extremist views. The couple were killed in the exchange of gunfire and the website TMZ has since posted photos (WARNING: graphic photos) it claims show a handcuffed Farook lying in the street amid a pool of blood.
The FBI announced it is investigating the mass shooting as an act of terrorism. They said Farook’s mother, who lived with the couple, never saw any of the weapons or bombs authorities found. The FBI questioned her Wednesday night and, according to the attorneys, refused to release her until Farook’s siblings came for questioning.
Law enforcement sources authorities told NBC News that suspect Tashfeen Malik, 27, posted a pledge of support to an ISIS leader on Facebook at around the time of the attack. “I’m aware of the Facebook posting”, Bowdich told reporters. The investigation has been focused on the motivation for the attack, with officials, including U.S. President Barack Obama and San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan, saying it may have been motivated by extremist ideology. The person was not authorized to speak publicly, and did so on condition of anonymity.
The company discovered the Facebook account Thursday.
– From Associated Press writer Tami Abdollah in Washington, D.C.
The relatives said Malik was soft-spoken and wore a burqa.
“Rahim, Saira and Eba, the brother and sisters of the alleged shooter, had no idea to the point when they got word that there was an incident that had taken place”, Chesley said. She and Farook met in Saudi Arabia through a dating service and were married in 2014. The officials say his family – including Tashfeen Malik, then only a few years old – joined him there 25 years ago.
Saudi officials also said that Malik had not raised any red flags while she was living in Saudi Arabia.
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The mass shooting may have been inspired by ISIS, a law enforcement official cited by CNN said, but none of the officials said ISIS directed or ordered the attack.
