Dennis Romero2015
The latest updates from the day of the shooting are at the bottom. See our most recent story, “San Bernardino Shooters Were on a 'Mission,'” here.
Multiple people were struck in a mass shooting in the city of San Bernardino today, authorities said.
San Bernardino Fire Department officials said 20 injuries were reported at a location in the 1300 block of S. Waterman Ave. Reports indicate the location is the Inland Regional Center, a state facility for people with developmental disabilities.
There were initial reports of possible multiple gunman and multiple casualties, but the scene seemed chaotic and confirmation was not secured.
Stay tuned for updates.
UPDATE at 12:08 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015: Cindy Bachman of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department told us initial reports indeed indicated one to three possible shooters with multiple people injured at the center.
She says her department was first notified of the situation at 11:04 a.m.
“We do have multiple ground units there and our SWAT team and a helicopter,” she said.
Bachman added that law enforcement agencies from around the Inland Empire have responded to the scene.
Nancy Lungren, assistant director of communications for the California Department of Developmental Services confirmed that the shooting took place at the state's San Bernardino facility.
She wasn't initially sure how many people were employed at the facility.
UPDATE at 12:40 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015: An FBI spokeswoman confirmed that federal agents were en route to the scene.
UPDATE at 12:51 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015: Loma Linda University Medical Center said in a statement that it's “expecting an influx of patients” from the shooting. Exact numbers weren't available.
Multiple outlets, including KNX 1070 Newsradio, report that at least one gunman entered a conference room full of people at the facility and opened fire.
UPDATE at 1:11 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015: Sgt. Vicki Cervantes of the San Bernardino Police Department told reporters at the scene that there have indeed been fatalities.
“We don't have numbers yet on casualties but there are multiple casualties and there are confirmed fatalities,” she said.
Multiple shooters entered the location and “started shooting” this morning, Cervantes said.
“We were told at least one of the shooters may have left in a black SUV,” she said.
Witness Juan Hernandez of Rialto told ABC Eyewitness News that a suspect was in military fatigues and left in a black SUV.
#SanBernardino: A father received this text from his daughter as shooting began. @CBSLA. https://t.co/1Narg0Hp4M pic.twitter.com/aNeNRl1val
— Boing Boing (@BoingBoing) December 2UPDATE at 1:59 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2014: San Bernardino Police Department Chief Jarrod Burguan says preliminary estimates indicate that 14 people are dead and about 14 people were injured.
“Up to three people entered the building and had opened fire on people inside of the building,” he said. The shooting took place about 11 a.m., Burguan said.
Authorities say multiple suspects were being sought. Government buildings in the area have been shut down. Multiple reports say a room at the facility was being rented by San Bernardino County health employees.
An FBI official said authorities “do not know if this is a terrorist incident.”
The chief said motive wasn't clear.
“These are people who came prepared … as if they were on a mission,” Burguan said. “I've repeatedly been told the number [of suspects] is three.”
UPDATE at 2:24 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015: President Barack Obama was briefed about the shooting and subsequently spoke about it to CBS News.
“We should never think that this is just something that just happens in the ordinary course of events because it doesn't happen with the same frequency in other countries,” he said.
He urged Congress to pass “common sense gun safety laws.”
The contemporary rhythm of mass shootings in the United States “has no parallel anywhere else in the world,” the president said.
UPDATE at 2:29 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015: The state has either shut down or tightened security at regional facilities for the developmentally disabled.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the Fairview Developmental Center … has been closed and precautions [have been] taken at regional centers in the area, including Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego,” said Lungren of the California Department of Developmental Services.
UPDATE at 3:35 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2: 2015: A pursuit of a dark Ford Expedition SUV ended in a gun battle between authorities and suspects inside the vehicle in San Bernardino. One suspect down in the street and one “breathing” with an assault rifle near him inside the vehicle, according to police radio traffic and news reports.
The pursuit started about 3:05 p.m.
An officer was wounded in a shootout with at least one suspect during the pursuit, apparently, but was expected to be “okay,” a San Bernardino Police Department spokeswoman told reporters near the scene.
Initial radio traffic indicated one of three people possibly in the SUV was on the run.
The injury count in the original mass shooting was up to 17, the spokeswoman said.
UPDATE at 5:50 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015: Chief Burguan told reporters that a tip about the mass shooting led officers to a residence in nearby Redlands.
When cops arrived an SUV was seen leaving the area, and a pursuit ensued, he said. That chase ended up in San Bernardino, where a gunfight between authorities and two suspects took place, the chief said.
The suspects in the SUV were fatally shot, Burguan said. He identified them only as a man and a woman. A possible third suspect who was in the area of the end of the pursuit was detained, but the chief said it wasn't clear if that person had any connection to the mass shooting.
“They were dressed in kind of assault-style clothing,” he said of the dead pair. “They are both armed with assault rifles. They are both armed with handguns.”
David Bowdich, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles-area office, said the investigation was ongoing and “fluid.”
“There is a third suspect and I don't know the disposition of that suspect,” he told reporters.
A possible explosive device found near the end of the pursuit was still being checked out by authorities, Burguan said. Sheriff John McMahon said one device was determined to be harmless but that another was discovered and was being checked out.
The sheriff also said “packages” inside the SUV were cause for alarm, and that bomb technicians were checking them out tonight.
The neighborhood was locked down, residents were told to stay inside, and officers searched for a possible suspect because neighbors reported hearing someone in their backyards, the chief said.
However, by that point, police had swarmed the area, and it's possible what residents heard was law enforcement. Just to be safe, the area was searched thoroughly, Burguan said.
“We feel that area's safe” now, he said.
Investigators aren't sure yet if one of the shooters was someone who had been at a “holiday party type event” at the facility this morning. “Somebody did leave,” he said. ” … We have no idea if those are the people that came back.”
If the shooters were a couple, it might make more sense than reports that the shooter came back with two companions to commit mass murder.
Still, authorities are still taking reports of a possible third shooter seriously, and they're following leads in a hunt for any further suspects.
On the question of whether or not this was a case of terrorism, Bowdich said, “I am still not willing to say that we know that for sure. It is a possibility.”
UPDATE at 8:45 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2: Multiple news outlets have identified one of the deceased as Syed Farook, 28
believed to be 30-years-old.He's listed on various public employee salary sites as a $51,746.70 per-year environmental health specialist for the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. A morning health department meeting, possibly a holiday party, was the apparent target of shooters.
Farook's father told the New York Daily News this:
“He was very religious. He would go to work, come back, go to pray, come back. He’s Muslim.”
Authorities haven't blamed the violence on religious extremism or terrorism, however. And they haven't ruled out disgruntled-worker syndrome dispute as a possible motive.
The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) scheduled a press conference tonight. The organization's Los Angeles-area executive director, Hussam Ayloush, said this in a statement:
We condemn this horrific and revolting attack and offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed or injured. The Muslim community stands shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Americans in repudiating any twisted mindset that would claim to justify such sickening acts of violence.
Farhan Khan, Farook's brother-in-law, said, “I am in shock that something like this would happen.”
UPDATE at 10:20 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015: Chief Burguan identified the second person killed in the post-pursuit shootout as 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik.
He said Malik and Farook were either dating or married. He also said there might not have been a third shooter after all, although someone was indeed detained at the conclusion of the pursuit.
The chief said police believe Farook was the person authorities encountered when they went to a home in Redlands, prior to the pursuit.
He described the gathering where the mass shooting took place as a “Christmas-type party.”
“He was at the party,” Burguan said of Farook. “He did leave the party early under some circumstances that were described as angry or something of that nature.”
He said Farook worked for the county health department for five years.
Credit: File photo by Mesa0789/Flickr
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