At the White House, President Barack Obama said after meeting with his national security team that it was “possible this was terrorist-related” but that authorities were unsure.
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Farook and Malik were dressed for battle and heavily armed when they opened fire at a holiday luncheon hosted by the San Bernardino County Health Department at the Inland Regional Center on Wednesday, killing 14 and injuring 21 others. The shooting left 14 people dead and injured 17 more.
“It is going to be important for all of us, including our legislatures, to see what we can do to make sure that when individuals decide they want to do somebody harm, we are going to make it a little harder to do it”, he said.
Obama praised law enforcement for their professionalism and timely response.
Burguan said “we still don’t have a motive”, but speculated that the couple may have been planning more carnage. “They looked like they were martyrs to me”, he said.
President Obama urged the country to take steps to reduce mass shootings, including stricter gun laws and stronger background checks.
Farook and Malik were found with assault rifles and semi-automatic handguns, and were wearing “assault-style clothing” with ammunition attached, authorities said.
Farook, born in the United States to Pakistani parents, worked as an environmental inspector for San Bernardino county, a position he held for about five years, according to published reports. Farook was at the party, just as he’d been a year ago, police said.
Seventeen people were wounded in the attack – the deadliest USA mass shooting since 2012 when 26 people including 20 children were shot dead at an elementary school in CT. But he still managed to call his father and his wife of two weeks so say he was alive. They set off controlled explosives in the townhouse fearing the couple left explosives behind.
USA Today also notes that the fleeing couple apparently threw bombs of some sort at the police during their high-speed pursuit, but these devices were “found to be inert”. None of the victims have been identified. Public records show it may be the home of a Farook family member.
“They were equipped… and they could have done another attack”, the chief said.
The shooting took place at the Inland Regional Center, which assists those with disabilities. He said that at some point, more than 30 minutes before the shooting, he and his co-workers noticed Farook had left.
“I would say hi and bye”.
According to witness accounts, the shooters stormed one of the buildings at the facility and opened fire inside of a conference room.
But we don’t know their motives.
Farook traveled to Saudi Arabia for several weeks in 2013 and also traveled there earlier this year for about a month. Is it work, race-related? Coworkers also expressed shock, many of whom described Syed as “polite” and “quiet”.
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Farhan Khan told NBC News that his brother-in-law Farook and wife left their baby girl with Farook’s mother on Wednesday, claiming they they had a doctor’s appointment. Khan condemned the violence and said he had “absolutely no idea” why Farook would do such a thing. It is believed that authorities have at least 1,000 people under watch and about 71 have been detained and questioned for ties to the organization, as of yesterday.
