Mass shooting in California leaves 14 dead, 2 killed suspects identified
San Bernardino (US): At least 14 people were killed after gunmen opened fire at a social service agency in the Southern California city of San Bernardino on Wednesday.A man and a woman suspected of carrying
San Bernardino (US): At least 14 people were killed after gunmen opened fire at a social service agency in the Southern California city of San Bernardino on Wednesday.
A man and a woman suspected of carrying out the attacked were killed in a shootout with police.
Police said that they believe the man and woman killed in a gun battle with police after Wednesday's mass shooting were the only two shooters.
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan identified the woman killed in the gun battle as 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik.
The other suspect was previously identified as 28-year-old Syed Farook. Relatives have said the two were married.
Farook was an environmental specialist with the county health department who sometimes worked at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
Burguan told reporters that Farook angrily left an office holiday party earlier Wednesday before returning with Malik.
Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says the couple left their baby with family Wednesday morning and never returned.
The slain suspects were armed with assault rifles and handguns, San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters who added that the investigators are looking at the possibility of an explosive device at the scene.
Soon after the shooting, an intense manhunt for up to three suspects, believed to be wearing military-style gear, was launched.
Police gave no details on a motive for the nation's latest mass shooting.
"They came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission," San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said, noting the shooters carried long guns, not handguns.
President Barack Obama, who often speaks out after mass shootings, told CBS that stricter gun laws, including stronger background checks, would make the country safer.
"The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world," Obama said.
Ten of the wounded were hospitalized in critical condition, and three were in serious condition, San Bernardino Fire Chief Tom Hannemann said. Police cautioned that the number of people killed and wounded were preliminary estimates.
San Bernardino police spokesman Sgt. Vicki Cervantes told The Associated Press there were reports from witnesses of between one and three shooters. FBI agents and others continued to search the Inland Regional Center, where witnesses said several people locked themselves in their offices after the gunfire erupted.
The attack took place in a conference area where the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health was holding a banquet, said Maybeth Field, the center's president and CEO. She said the building houses at least 25 employees.
Triage units were set up outside the center, and people were seen being wheeled away on stretchers. Others walked quickly from a building with their hands up. They were searched by police before being reunited with loved ones.
Stores, office buildings and at least one school were locked down in the city of 214,000 people about 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. Roads were blocked off.
Terry Petit said his daughter works at the center, and he got a text from her saying she was hiding in the building after hearing gunshots. Petit choked back tears as he read the texts for reporters. He said she wrote: "People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office."
Marcos Aguilera's wife was in the building when the gunfire erupted. He said a shooter entered the building next to his wife's office and opened fire.
"They locked themselves in her office. They seen bodies on the floor," Aguilera told KABC-TV, adding that his wife was able to get out of the building unharmed.
Sherry Esquerra was searching for her daughter, who works at the center. When she calls her phone, she said, "Nothing. I just get her message. Straight to voicemail."