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 earlier today.
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."
.@SanBernardinoPD has confirmed an active shooter in the area of Orange Show Rd/ Waterman Ave near Park center. #SBCSD assisting.
— SB County Sheriff (@sbcountysheriff) December 2, 2015
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."
Father reads text from daughter: "Shooting at my work. People shot...Pray for us." https://t.co/Hv8FNXsc3Xhttps://t.co/vEnH2FNdBe
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) December 2, 2015
Member station KPCC has a video of police trying to calm workers while leading them out of the center in the aftermath of the shootings:
Scene from inside building at San Bernardino shootingSan Bernardino Police confirmed that at least 14 people are dead and 14 people have been injured in the mass shooting in San Bernardino Wednesday. Police say there were up to three suspects who may have left the area in a dark-colored SUV. They are still at large. “They came prepared to do what they did as if they were on a mission," said San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan.Gabi Flores gave us permission to post this video from inside the Inland Regional Center, where the shooting took place. She is Customer Services Coordinator there. In the video, you can see an officer leading the group to safety. At one point, he says: "Try to relax, try to relax. I'll take a bullet before you do, that's for damn sure."Here's everything we know so far: http://kp.cc/1NHW0Qj
Posted by KPCC on Wednesday, December 2, 2015
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.
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