Police said a male and a female suspect were killed in a shootout with police after officers chased a sport-utility vehicle being sought after the attack.
Advertisement
Law enforcement were involved in a shootout with a black SUV late Wednesday and “some suspects or a suspect” was hit, a San Bernardino police spokeswoman said Wednesday evening.
At a press conference just before 2 PM PST, San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan announced there are 14 people dead and fourteen people wounded as a result of the mass shooting, clarifying that while that number is “reliable”, it is also subject to change.
Law enforcement officials with armored vehicles search an area near where police stopped a suspect SUV. It is not known of any of the IEDs detonated, but explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) dismantled at least one bomb inside the building and at least one more (described as a “pipe bomb” over police radio) after the shooting. Outside the facility, people used their phones to keep in touch with loved ones inside.
According to one man whose his wife worked in the Inland Regional building told KABC-TV that at least one gunman walked into the center at began open fire around 11 AM. According to NBC Los Angeles, 70 elementary, middle and high schools are on lockdown in San Bernardino.
The attack took place inside a packed conference room rented out for a Christmas holiday event by the center, which provides services for people with developmental disabilities.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has not yet designated any businesses or health care facilities for increased security but is remaining vigilant as the investigation in San Bernardino unfolds, Lt. Christian Hays said. December 2, 2015. Police in San Bernardino, California, were responding to reports of an active shooter at a social services facility. San Bernardino is 60 miles east of LA.
The Los Angeles Times, citing Cervantes, reported that suspects were heavily armed and may have been wearing body armor.
A White House official told Reuters that US President Barack Obama was being briefed on the matter. He says she wrote: “People shot. Pray for us. I am locked in an office”.
Farook is a USA citizen, and his brother-in-law Farhan Khan reportedly said he had “absolutely no idea” why his relative would carry out the attack. Police didn’t exchange gunfire with the shooters, he added.
Advertisement
There were several hundred people inside the building when the shooting happened.
