Mass Shooting Suspect Identified
Syed Farook has been identified by a law enforcement official as one of the suspects in the mass shooting in Southern California.
Farook’s brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, expressed his shock and sadness over the incident. Khan, who is married to Farook’s sister, said that he last spoke to Farook a week prior to the shooting.
Speaking to reporters at the Anaheim office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, he said that he was shocked and had absolutely no idea why Farook would do something like this. Khan said that he had been asked by the other members of his family to speak at the press conference and express their collective grief.
Fourteen people were killed and a further 14 wounded in a shooting incident that unfolded at about 11 am local time at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino Wednesday, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles.
Two Suspects Shot
Police say two suspects, one male and one female, are dead after the shooting .
San Bernardino police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes would not elaborate, and the condition of the suspect was not known. She says an officer was hurt in the shootout and went to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Armored police vehicles surrounded a dark-colored SUV with shattered windows on a residential street.
The suspects were believed to have fled the building, possibly making their getaway in a dark-colored sport utility vehicle.Jarrod Burguan, Chief, San Bernardino Police
Motive Unknown
Jarrod Burguan, San Bernardino Police Chief said he knew no possible motive behind the attack.
“We have no information at this point that this is terrorist-related, in the traditional sense that people may be thinking,” he added. “Obviously, at minimum, we have a domestic-type terrorist-type situation that occurred here.”
He said the suspects were armed with rifles.
Attackers came in “military style” attire.San Bernandino Police Dept Spokeswoman
The shooting took place at the Inland Regional Center, one of 21 facilities serving people with developmental disabilities run by the state.Nancy Lungren, Spokeswoman for the California Department of Developmental Services.
The social services agency is among regional centers throughout California that administer, authorise and pay for assistance to people with disabilities such as autism and mental retardation. Lungren said that the San Bernardino facility is one of the state’s largest and busiest.
14 Deaths Reported, 14 Wounded
Reuters is reporting that 14 people were killed and a further 14 were wounded when the three suspects opened fire at a social services agency in San Bernardino.
Manhunt Under Way For up to Three Suspects
A manhunt was under way for up to three suspects who shot at the social services agency in the Southern California city of San Bernardino, authorities said.
Lavina Johnson, executive director of the facility, told CNN that one to three suspects opened fire inside a conference center where a holiday party was being held for county health department personnel.
San Bernardino police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes has told KCBS-TV that the shooters were wearing “military-style” attire.
Police have been told at least one of the shooters may have left the scene in a black SUV.San Bernandino Police Spokeswoman
Obama Says Every Level of Govt Needs to Come Together to Curb Shootings
Responding to the San Bernandino shootings, US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that every level of government needs to come together on a bipartisan basis to curb shooting, reports CBS.
US President Barack Obama was earlier briefed on the mass shooting in San Bernardino, a White House official said.
The president has been briefed by his Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco about the shooting in San Bernardino and has asked to be updated on the situation as it developsWhite House Official
Must Take Action to Stop Gun Violence Now: Hillary Clinton
Quoting a news story on the San Bernandino shooting, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Twitter, “I refuse to accept this as normal. We must take action to stop gun violence now.”
The shooting in California comes less than a week after a gunman killed three people and wounded nine in a shooting rampage at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. In October, a gunman killed nine people at a college in Oregon and in June a white gunman killed nine black churchgoers in South Carolina.
(Inputs by Reuters and AP)
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