At least 14 dead in San Bernardino shooting; no motive known
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Gunmen burst into a social services center Wednesday and opened fire, killing at least 14 people and setting off an intense manhunt that ended with a gunfight and the death of two suspects — a man and a woman, authorities said.
Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said the killers walked into a meeting room at the Inland Regional Center, began shooting and quickly fled in a dark-colored SUV. Later, officers following up on a tip rushed to a home, and the suspects fled in an SUV.
A police chase and a shootout followed, Burguan said.
"One male and one female were killed," Burguan said. He said the pair were dressed in military-style garb and were armed with assault rifles and handguns. One officer was wounded in the shootout, but the injuries were not life-threatening.
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"There was a third person seen running away, that person has been detained," Burguan said. He said it was not clear if the person was involved in the massacre. He also said there still might be a suspect at-large, and searches were continuing in the city 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Burguan said 14 people were killed and 17 wounded in the shooting rampage at the center. It was the nation's deadliest shooting since a gunman killed 26 people in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012.
Officers searching the building later found an explosive device that had not detonated. No motive had been determined, he said. County buildings in the area were shut down.
Witnesses said the shooters were armed with long guns, wearing ski masks and military-style vests. They opened fire in a conference area that the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health had rented out for an employee banquet, Marybeth Feild, president and CEO of the non-profit center, told the Associated Press.
One of the killers was identified as Syed Farook, according to a federal law enforcement source who is not authorized to comment publicly. Farook has been employed by the county, the source said.
Doyle Miller, the owner of the two-bedroom home where Farook resides in Redlands, Calif., said Farook has lived there for five or six months. Miller said Farook moved in with his wife and a “young child,” who he thinks was just a baby. He said a grandmother also apparently lived there, though he wasn’t sure if it was Farook’s grandmother or the child’s.
Miller said he only met Farook once and had no problems with him; “the only thing we complained about is that he didn’t take care of the back yard.”
Farook’s brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, said at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) press conference Wednesday evening: “On behalf of my family we all are shocked. We are completely shocked and had no idea.”
Authorities are tracing the origin of the four weapons recovered — two assault-style rifles and two handguns — from the two dead suspects, a federal law enforcement official told USA TODAY. The official, who is not authorized to comment, said investigators are focusing on an incident, perhaps a workplace dispute, before the shooting in which one person became angry and left a gathering of employees. The person later returned with two others.
It was not immediately clear, according to the official, what prompted the apparent dispute. And it was not known whether the person who left the gathering had gone to the location to scout the target as part of a detailed plan to launch the attack.
Accounts of the pre-shooting dispute were being provided to investigators by witnesses who appeared to have consistent recollections of the events as they unfolded, the official said.
Federal authorities were not ruling out the possibility of terrorism, the official said, largely because of what appears to be detailed planning involved in the attack, including the number of suspects involved, the tactical clothing worn by the suspects and the attempted plan for escape. The involvement of a woman in the attacks also marks a very rare turn for similar domestic shootings, which typically involve male gunmen.
As police closed in, the suspects hurled what initially appeared to be explosives from their SUV — but they may not have been bombs, just items disguised as explosives in an attempt to distract pursuing investigators.
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Another federal official who also could not comment publicly said no explosive devices were recovered in the vehicle where the bodies of two of the suspects were recovered. Authorities, however, were examining an apparent explosive device at the location of the mass shooting.
"The information we have is they came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission," Burguan said, adding that they were "equipped to get away."
Burguan said police have not determined a motive for the rampage. Agents from the FBI, ATF and U.S. Marshal's Service had joined the investigation
David Bowdich, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office, said it was too early to determine if the attack was terrorism-related.
"This is a marathon, not a sprint," he said of the investigation.
Many of the injured were taken from the building on stretchers and strapped into gurneys. Loma Linda University Medical Center and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center said they received multiple patients from the shooting.
Marybeth Field, president and CEO of the Inland Regional Center, said the incident took place in a conference area that a county group had rented. She said about 25 employees work in the building, which provides services for people with developmental disabilities.
Terry Petit said his daughter texted to say she was hiding after gunfire erupted at the social services facility where she works. Petit choked back tears as he read the texts for reporters outside the center. He said she wrote: "People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office."
Many area residents and concerned friends and family members congregated about a quarter-mile from the scene of the attack, near a gas station. Meredith Wiresinger said she had two friends in the center when the tragedy took place.
"Thankfully they are OK. But you can see the fear from people who don't what has happened to their loved ones," she said. "You hear about tragedy, but today we are seeing it in real life and on people's faces. They've got to get these guns off the street."
Wilbert Aquino picked up his 10-year-old daughter from a nearby school.
"We are just going to go home and stay there and wait until we hear more," he said. "Thankfully, she is OK, but I'm sure the kids are scared."
California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered that flags at the Capitol be lowered to half-staff.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families and everyone affected by the brutal attack," Brown said in a statement. "California will spare no effort in bringing these killers to justice."
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According to its Facebook page, 670 Inland Regional Center staff members provide services to more than 30,200 people in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The center's clients range from toddlers to seniors.
In Washington, a White House spokesperson said President Obama had been briefed by Homeland Security adviser Lisa Monaco about the shooting and has asked to be updated on the situation as it develops.
"We don't know that much yet," Obama told CBS News. "It's still an active situation."
The president said we do know that "we have a pattern of mass shootings" in the United States that have no parallel in other countries in the world. He again called for "common-sense gun safety laws" and improved background checks
"It doesn't happen with the same kind of frequency in other countries," Obama told CBS.
Stanglin and Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Brett Kelman and Anna Rumer, The (PalmSprings, Calif.) Desert Sun, reported from San Bernardino; Liz Szabo and Brad Heath from McLean,Va.
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