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2015 San Bernardino shooting
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This article documents a recent shooting. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (December 2015) |
| 2015 San Bernardino mass shooting | |
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San Bernardino
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| Location | San Bernardino, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 34°4′32.84″N 117°16′39.92″W |
| Date | December 2, 2015 10:59 am (PST) |
| Target | Employees with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health attending holiday event at Inland Regional Center[1] |
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Attack type
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Mass shooting |
| Weapons | Two .223-caliber semi-automatic rifles (one DPMS, one Smith & Wesson M&P15) and two semi-automatic pistols; explosive device[2] |
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Non-fatal injuries
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23[3][4] |
| Perpetrators | Syed Rizwan Farook Tashfeen Malik[5][6] |
| Motive | Unknown |
After a regional manhunt, the two perpetrators—Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik—were killed by police after gunfire was exchanged with them while in their vehicle, approximately four hours later. Farook, who was married to Malik, had attended the party as an employee. It was the second-deadliest mass shooting in California's history, after the 1984 San Ysidro McDonald's massacre, and the deadliest in the United States since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[7] Police emphasized that no motive has yet been discovered.
Contents
Events
Shooting
Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik left their six-month-old daughter with Farook's mother the morning before the attacks. They told her that it was because of a doctor's appointment.[8][9] Farook, a health inspector for the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, was reportedly in attendance at the department's holiday party at the Inland Regional Center,[10] a nonprofit facility serving people with developmental disabilities[11][12] on South Waterman Avenue.[3] There were over 100 people in attendance.[13][14] 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.[15][16] There were some reports that an argument occurred before his departure.[17] In later police briefings, it was said he left, "under circumstances that were described as angry."[18]At 10:59 am PST, two perpetrators, wearing ski masks and camouflage, opened fire on the party-goers. Witnesses allegedly recognized Farook as one of the shooters by his voice and build.[19]
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.[20][21][22][23] Roads in the area were closed to traffic.[24]Police and SWAT teams surrounded the building as people were being evacuated.[25] Police remotely detonated an unidentified device found at the scene and used a battering ram to get into the complex.[26][27] The FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department Counter-Terrorism Unit were called into action.[28] Police were on the lookout for a black SUV, apparently used by the perpetrators to flee the scene.[26][29][30][31]
The United States 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 suspects and police.[32][33]
Shootout and death of suspects
A shootout on East San Bernardino Boulevard, about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) away from the shooting, began around 3:00 pm. Police requested a BearCat and medical assistance. After the SUV was pursued and stopped, the suspects exchanged fire with police from inside their vehicle. The gunfire lasted under a minute and both suspects were killed.[34][35] Witnesses said the suspects wore body armor similar to that of the police and were throwing items out of the window.[36][37]Police locked down streets in the area and residents were asked to stay indoors.[36] A police chief confirmed that the two perpetrators were killed.[5] The shooters were dressed in "tactical gear" and were armed with handguns and .223-caliber rifles.[38] By 6:00 pm, police served a warrant on a Redlands townhouse that was under surveillance when the suspects left in the SUV.[39]
Victims
Fourteen people were confirmed killed and twenty-one injured at the Inland Regional Center,[40][36][41] including five adult patients who were transported to nearby Loma Linda University Medical Center[25][42] and six patients to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.[26][43] One police officer was injured in the gunfight by a bullet and hospitalized.[44][3][45] Another officer was injured by flying glass or shrapnel.[46]Suspects
Police identified the dead suspects as Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik. Farook was a 28-year-old American citizen, born in Illinois to parents who had immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan.[9] He graduated from California State University, San Bernardino with a degree in environmental health in 2009.[47] He had worked as a food inspector for the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health for the last five years.[48][49][50] A coworker had not noticed Farook exhibiting any unusual behavior recently,[15][51] and two coworkers described him as quiet and polite.[16]Malik was a 27-year-old woman originally from Pakistan who had lived in Saudi Arabia.[52][53] A coworker of Farook said he went to Saudi Arabia in the spring for about a month and married Malik there after meeting her through the Internet.[16][35] Farook described his wife as a pharmacist; she joined him in California shortly after their wedding. They had a six-month-old daughter.[50][54][55]
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.[17][9] Terrorism has not been ruled out as a motive, but police emphasized that no motive has yet been discovered.[9][56]On December 3, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took over the investigation.[57] A U.S. government official said that Farook had been in contact with a person investigated for terrorism, though they did not say who it was, or what role they played in the incident.[58]
Weapons used in attack
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reported that the attackers used two .223-caliber assault rifles, two semi-automatic handguns, and an explosive device in the attack.[2][59] All four of the guns were purchased legally in the United States four years before the attack, and two of them were purchased by a person now under investigation.[60]The assault rifles were variants of the AR-15, one manufactured by DPMS Panther Arms and the other a Smith & Wesson M&P15.[59][60] One of the handguns was manufactured by Llama and the other by Smith & Wesson.[60] The ATF did not say whether the guns were purchased in California or in another state.[60] All of the firearms had serial numbers, so the ATF said that it will try to trace the weapons.[60]
In addition to the two firearms, the attackers left an "explosive device" (or three explosive devices all connected to one another) at the scene; this device was later detonated by a bomb squad.[2][61] 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.[2][61]
Search of townhouse
Police used robots to search the suspects' townhouse in Redlands, a few miles away from San Bernardino.[62]Investigators found twelve pipe bomb devices and a cache of tools that could be used to make improvised explosive devices at the home being searched in connection with the shooting.[63]
Reactions
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." The annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the State Capitol was canceled and all flags were lowered to half-staff.[64]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.[65]
References
- "President Obama responds to San Bernardino shootings". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
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