San Bernardino attackers tried to cover their tracks, official says
The two San Bernardino attackers sought to cover their tracks by damaging some personal electronic devices, a senior U.S. law enforcement official said Friday as investigators struggled to learn what prompted the rampage that claimed at least 14 lives.
Since the massacre Wednesday — which also wounded 21 people — officials have scrambled to determine whether they were looking at a terrorist attack or an extremely unusual and lethal case of workplace violence. They have also revealed that the attackers had amassed an arsenal of explosives and ammunition, suggesting the possibility of further violence.
Police said they had found a number of items — including thumb drives, computers and cellphones — that were being analyzed to investigate the couple’s digital trail.
However, the official said Friday that the attackers sought to destroy some of the devices. Some were smashed into little pieces, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The official did not elaborate Friday on the specific types of devices that were destroyed. But because some of the items recovered by law enforcement were broken up into pieces, it was unclear how much could be recovered from the devices themselves, the official said.
The FBI is still trying to determine when the devices were smashed and has not concluded if they were damaged before the shooting or during the hours between the massacre in San Bernardino and the shootout with police later that same day that killed both attackers.
Police have identified the shooters as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, a county health worker born in Chicago, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, his Pakistani wife, who was in the United States on a visa.
The young husband and wife had a daughter just six months ago and showed no outward sign of Islamist radicalization, psychological distress or a desire for mayhem. Farhad Farook, the brother-in-law of one of the attackers, told NBC News that he was beginning the legal process to adopt the couple’s daughter.
Authorities still believe the plot was limited to the two attackers, the senior law enforcement official said, but they are still investigating whether anyone else had any knowledge of the attack.
The official said the FBI remains perplexed and has yet to find any material that would indicate radicalization on the part of either one, saying that based on what investigators have found, neither seems to fit the typical model of a radicalized attacker.
This official also said the attack in San Bernardino evoked the mass shooting in Chattanooga, Tenn., earlier this year, when 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire at an armed forces recruiting center and a Navy Reserve center, killing five people. In that case, the official pointed out, it took days for the FBI to sort out what had happened, and some questions remain unanswered.
The FBI, which has authority to investigate potential terrorism, said Thursday that it had taken over the investigation, as authorities carefully picked through three crime scenes: the Inland Regional Center, where the mass shooting occurred; the San Bernardino street where the couple died in the gun battle with police; and the couple’s rented home in Redlands, Calif., where robots helped investigators root out an arsenal of pipe bombs and thousands of bullets.
2015 San Bernardino shooting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On December 2, 2015, husband and wife Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik shot and killed 14 people and injured 21 others at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, United States. They targeted a holiday party for employees of the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, held in an auditorium with at least 100 people, before fleeing in an SUV. Farook had attended the party as an employee. As the San Bernardino attack was happening, investigators believe the female shooter, Tashfeen Malik, posted on Facebook, pledging allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
After a regional manhunt, the two perpetrators were killed by police after gunfire was exchanged with them while in their vehicle, approximately four hours later. Police emphasized that no motive had yet been discovered. The FBI took over the investigation as a counter-terrorism investigation due to the equipment used, recent travel to the Middle East and one of the perpetrators potentially having contacts with Islamist extremist views.
The attack was the second-deadliest mass shooting in California's history, after the 1984 San Ysidro McDonald's massacre, and the deadliest in the U.S. since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[5]
Contents
Events
Location map
A - Site of shooting
B - Injured people treated
C - School for the blind where some took shelter
B - Injured people treated
C - School for the blind where some took shelter
The shootout occurred on the south side of San Bernardino Ave. just east
of Sheldon Drive; the "A" at the left indicates the location of the Inland Regional Center.
Shooting
Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik left their six-month-old daughter with Farook's mother the morning before the attacks, saying they were going to a doctor's appointment.[6][7] Farook, a health inspector for the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, attended the department's holiday party at the Inland Regional Center.[8] There were over 100 people in attendance.[9][10] Coworkers reported that he had been quiet during the early parts of the event and noticed he had left the party abruptly, leaving his coat, before a group photo was taken.[11][12] There were some reports that an argument occurred before his departure.[13] In later police briefings, it was said he left "under circumstances that were described as angry".[14]At 10:59 am PST, two perpetrators wearing black tactical outfits and armed with assault rifles opened fire on the partygoers.[15] They fired between 65 and 75 bullets and left behind an explosive device that failed to detonate.[15] Witnesses said that they recognized Farook as one of the shooters by his voice and build.[16]
Police response
At 11:14 am, the San Bernardino Fire Department posted on Twitter about an emergency on the 1300 block of Waterman Avenue, with the police working to clear the scene.[17][18][19][20] Roads in the area were closed to traffic.[21]Police and SWAT teams surrounded the building as people were being evacuated.[22] Police remotely detonated an unidentified device found at the scene and used a battering ram to get into the complex.[23][24] The FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department Counter-Terrorism Unit were called into action.[25] Police were on the lookout for a black SUV used by the perpetrators to flee the scene.[23][26][27][28]
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also responded, sending a Pilatus PC-12 surveillance aircraft to the area. The plane circled the skies above San Bernardino for hours, mainly in the area where the shooting took place and in areas under investigation by police, and departed after the shootout between the perpetrators and police.[29][30]
Shootout and death of perpetrators
A shootout on East San Bernardino Boulevard, about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) away from the scene of the mass shooting, began around 3:00 pm, about four hours after the initial attack at the Inland Regional Center had begun. Police requested a BearCat and medical assistance. After the SUV was pursued and stopped, the couple exchanged fire with police from inside their vehicle, a black Ford Expedition SUV which Farook had rented several days earlier.[31]The gunfire lasted under a minute before both perpetrators were killed.[32][33] The sheriff's department confirmed that one male and one female were killed.[34] According to the San Bernardino police chief, during the shootout, police fired 380 rounds and the couple fired 76 rounds.[31]
Police locked down streets in the area and residents were asked to stay indoors.[35]
Victims
Fourteen people were killed and 21 others injured at the Inland Regional Center,[35][36][37] including five adult patients who were transported to nearby Loma Linda University Medical Center[22][38] (the only Level I trauma center in the region[39]) and six patients to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.[23][40] One police officer was injured in the gunfight by a bullet and hospitalized.[2][41][42] Another officer was injured by flying glass or shrapnel.[43]Of the 14 deaths, 12 were county employees. Their ages ranged from 26 to 60.[44]
Perpetrators
Syed Rizwan Farook as pictured in his 2013 driver's license
Farook worked as a food inspector for the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health for five years before the shooting.[50][51][52] From July to December 2010, he was a seasonal employee for the county. He was hired as an environmental health specialist trainee on January 28, 2012, and became a permanent employee on February 8, 2014.[47] Coworkers described him as quiet and polite and they commented on not noticing anything unusual prior to the attack.[11][12][53][54] According to his father and coworkers, Farook was a devout Muslim, and traveled to Saudi Arabia to complete the Hajj in 2013.[55][56][57][14]
Farook attended prayers at the Islamic Center of Riverside twice a day, "sometimes as early as 4:30 a.m. and again in the evenings," according to an interview in The New York Times with Mustafa H. Kuko, the Center's director. According to the Times, Farook stood out as one of the most devout members, wearing long robes to Friday services.[58]
Malik was a 27-year-old woman originally from Pakistan who had lived in Saudi Arabia.[59][60] A coworker of Farook said he went to Saudi Arabia in the spring of 2014 for about a month and married her there after meeting her through the Internet.[12][33] Farook described his wife as a pharmacist; she joined him in California shortly after their wedding. They had a daughter of six months at the time of their deaths.[52][61][62] The couple traveled to the U.S. in July 2014;[63] Malik entered on a K-1 visa (fiancée visa) on a Pakistani passport.[14][39] According to a State Department spokesman, all applicants for such visas are fully screened.[64] Farook applied for permanent residency (a "green card") for Malik in September 2014, and she was granted a conditional green card in July 2015.[63] Obtaining such a green card would have required the couple to prove that the marriage was legitimate, as well as requiring Malik to provide her fingerprints and pass criminal and national security background checks using government databases.[39][63] Malik was one of a small number of female mass shooters in the U.S.; according to FBI statistics, women constituted only 3.75 percent of shooters of active shooter incidents between the years 2000 and 2013.[65][66][67]
Farook's brother-in-law later said he believed the shooting was a "personal act" not connected to Islam or Islamism.[68]
Investigation
Police said the attack was probably not simply a reaction to an argument and was likely, at least to some degree, planned in advance.[7][13]On December 3, the FBI took over the investigation,[69] treating the probe as a counterterrorism investigation.[39] According to the Washington Post, "A senior U.S. law enforcement official said that Farook was in contact with persons of interest with possible ties to terrorism but that these were not 'substantial' contacts."[70]
Weapons and equipment used in attack
The shooters were wearing black tactical gear, but not bulletproof vests, and armed with rifles and handguns.[35][71][72]The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reported that the attackers used two .223-caliber semi-automatic rifles, two semi-automatic handguns, and an explosive device in the attack.[1][39] All four of the guns were purchased legally in the U.S. four years before the attack, and two of them were purchased by a person now under investigation.[73]
The rifles used were variants of the AR-15: one was manufactured by DPMS Panther Arms, the other was a Smith & Wesson M&P15.[39][73] One of the handguns was manufactured by Llama and the other by Smith & Wesson.[73] The ATF did not say whether the guns were purchased in California or in another state.[73] All of the firearms had serial numbers, so the ATF said that it will try to trace the weapons.[73] The couple had 1,400 rounds for the rifles and 200 for the handguns with them at the time of the shootout.[39]
In addition to the two firearms, the attackers left an "explosive device" (three explosive devices connected to one another) at the Inland Regional Center; this device was later detonated by a bomb squad.[1][74] At least one fake explosive—a metal pipe stuffed with cloth made to resemble a pipe bomb—was thrown by the attackers during the pursuit by police.[1][74]
Search of townhouse
Following the end of the shootout, the focus shifted to a townhouse in Redlands, a few miles away from San Bernardino. By 6:00 pm PST on December 2, police had begun to execute a search warrant on the house.[75] Police used robots to search the house.[76] Investigators found 2,000 9-millimeter handgun rounds, 2,500 .223 caliber rounds, and twelve pipe bombs, along with a cache of tools that could be used to make improvised explosive devices.[77]Aftermath
Following the shooting, classes for the remainder of the day were canceled at California State University, San Bernardino.[78] Classes were also canceled at Loma Linda University as a precaution following a bomb threat that was called into the university's medical center, where many injured victims were being treated.[78] James Ramos, chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, said following the shooting that most county offices would be closed the remainder of the week, with only the most essential services remaining open.[79] The San Bernardino Department of Public Health announced that all county offices would be closed through December 7.[80] President Obama also ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House, public buildings, military installations, Navy ships, embassies and diplomatic missions.[81] The governors of several states also ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff in their states as well.[82][83][84]The annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the State Capitol was canceled and all flags were lowered to half-staff.[78][85]
Political reactions
Prior to the alleged shooters being located, California Governor Jerry Brown said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families and everyone affected by the brutal attack. California will spare no effort in bringing these killers to justice".[78]President Barack Obama said, "There are some steps we could take—not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings—but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently. Common-sense gun safety laws, stronger background checks". He called for bipartisan cooperation to reduce the frequency of such shootings in the U.S.[86] In an interview with CBS News' Norah O'Donnell, Obama said: "We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world".[87] Obama called for legislation to block people on the anti-terrorism No Fly List from purchasing weapons.[87] Speaker of the House Paul Ryan opposed this proposal, saying that it would violate the due process rights of people on the list.[88]
Coordinates
| Point | Coordinates (links to map & photo sources) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Inland Regional Center | 34.0755°N 117.2777°W | Initial shooting site |
| Inland Empire Lighthouse for the Blind, 359 E. Parkcenter Circle South |
34.0743742°N 117.2774319°W | Assembly point outside initial shooting site[89] |
| Loma Linda University Medical Center | 34.0525°N 117.2642°W | Victims' trauma center |
| Arrowhead Regional Medical Center | 34.0739°N 117.3511°W | Six victims treated here |
| East San Bernardino Boulevard | 34.0775°N 117.2484°W | Final shootout with police |
| San Bernardino Department of Public Health – Division of Environmental Health Services |
34.1064°N 117.2886°W | Farook's workplace |
| 50 block of N. Center Street, Redlands | 34.0547°N 117.1942°W | Farook's townhouse |
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2015 San Bernardino shooting. |
- Coverage at the Los Angeles Times
