2 Suspects Dead After San Bernardino Shooting That Killed 14
UPDATED 10:30pm: Law enforcement officers in San Bernardino, Calif., killed two people suspected of killing 14 people and wounding 17 others in a shooting at the Inland Regional Center on Wednesday.
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said one man and one woman were killed when police chased the suspects' SUV and exchanged fire.
Law enforcement sources confirm to NPR's Dina Temple-Raston that one of the suspected gunmen is identified as Syed Farook. Farook was employed by the San Bernardino County health department as an environmental health specialist. His name has also been reported as Sayed Rizwan Farooq.
A source tells Dina that witnesses appeared to recognize his voice and build even though he was wearing a ski mask. His brother, a source told Dina, is also a subject of the investigation.
"We followed up on some tips that took us to a residence in the city of Redlands," Burguan said. "When officers were setting up on that residence to watch it, there was a vehicle that was seen leaving that was suspected of being involved. There ended up being a pursuit ... the suspects' vehicle stopped and there was an officer-involved shooting."
Burguan said the man and woman were dressed in "assault-style clothing" and carried "assault-style rifles" and handguns. He did not know their ages or their relationship. Burguan also said police detained a third suspect who was seen running away, but they do not yet know if he was involved. He said one police officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Burguan said police were taking extra care in approaching the suspects' vehicle in case there were explosives.
At least 14 people were killed and 17 others wounded when up to three suspects armed with long guns entered the Inland Regional Center — which is part of the California Department of Developmental Services and serves people with developmental disabilities — and began shooting, authorities said Wednesday.
Burguan did not discuss a possible motive, although he did say that there had been some sort of dispute at a holiday party at the center and one person had left the gathering. He cautioned that police did not know that if the person who left the party was one of the people who returned and opened fire.
Hours after the shooting, which began at 11:00 a.m. local time, TV images showed a bullet-riddled, dark-colored SUV hemmed in by police tactical vehicles and surrounded by officers in what appeared to be a residential neighborhood. Police told residents to shelter in place but lifted the warning after the two suspects were killed, saying the search had been wrapped up.
"We feel confident about the neighborhood ... that we have secured that and there is nobody outstanding there," he said. "On the broader scale, we are tracking down that information ... to identify if there was a third person involved [in the shooting]."
At an earlier press conference, Burguan said of the suspects: "These are people that came prepared. They were dressed and equipped in a way to indicate that they were prepared and they were armed with long guns not handguns."
The assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, David Bowdich, said at the news conference, "Is this a terrorist incident? We do not know."
Burguan also said that several hundred people who were in the building were taken to a safe location and that buildings in the surrounding area were locked down.
Roads near the scene were shut down and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was warning people to avoid the area.
Terry Petit said his daughter works at the Inland Regional Center and that she said she was inside when the sound of gunfire erupted.
He choked back tears as he read her texts to ABC 7 Eyewitness News: "People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office."
San Bernardino Mayor R. Carey Davis said in a statement that the community "experienced severe loss and severe shock" Wednesday.
"It is critical in moments like these, our City unites in supporting the victims, their families, and the effort against crime in our City. We will continue to utilize all safety resources available to the San Bernardino community to deal with this tragedy," he said.
A White House official said that President Obama was briefed on the San Bernardino shootings.
"We don't yet know what the motives of the shooters are, but what we do know is there are steps we can take to make Americans safer and that we should come together in a bipartisan basis at every level of government to make these rare as opposed to normal," Obama told CBS News Wednesday. "We should never think that this is something that just happens in the ordinary course of events, because it doesn't happen with the same frequency in other countries."
This is a developing story. Some things that get reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene. We will update as the situation develops.
UPDATED 5:37pm:
Police say shots have been fired and a suspect is down near a dark-colored SUV in an area near a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, in which at least 14 people were killed and about 14 wounded.
It's unclear if the suspect is related to the deadly shooting Wednesday at a social services facility in Southern California. Police have said that the suspects may have fled in a dark SUV.
San Bernardino police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes said she knew of no officers who were injured in the shootout.
Television footage showed armored vehicles blocking the SUV on a residential street.
Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said at a news conference that the number of fatalities was a preliminary number and could change.
He says up to three shooters entered the building and opened fire at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
Authorities say 10 of the 14 people wounded in the shooting were taking to hospitals in critical condition.
The suspects were believed to have been armed with "long guns'' and may have fled in a dark-colored SUV .
Burguan said there is no indication of terrorism, but he said he would describe it as "domestic terrorism.''
The Inland Regional Center serves individuals with developmental disabilities in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
Authorities have locked down courts and increased police presence at other public facilities but didn't know the motive of the attack.
Marcos Aguilera says his wife was inside the facility when gunfire erupted but she got out of the building unharmed.
He told KABC-TV that a shooter entered the building next to his wife's office and opened fire. Aguilera says they locked themselves in her office and saw bodies on the floor.
President Barack Obama says there's a pattern of mass shootings in the U.S. that has no parallel elsewhere in the world.
Obama commented on the mass shooting in San Bernardino in an interview with CBS News.
Obama says there are steps the U.S. can take to reduce the frequency of mass shootings.
Obama is calling for the country to come together to make mass shootings a rare occurrence. He says the U.S. should never think mass shootings are a normal part of life.
(Updated at 5:37 PM CST)