Officials: California gunman was in touch with extremists
This undated photo provided by the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Syed Rizwan Farook who has been named as the suspect in the San Bernardino, Calif., shootings. (California Department of Motor Vehicles via AP)
This undated photo provided by the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Syed Rizwan Farook who has been named as the suspect in the San Bernardino, Calif., shootings. (California Department of Motor Vehicles via AP)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Flowers are left by the side of the road today as a San Bernardino police officer blocks the road leading to the site of yesterday’s mass shooting on San Bernardino, Calif.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Flowers are left by the side of the road today as a San Bernardino police officer blocks the road leading to the site of yesterday’s mass shooting on San Bernardino, Calif.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Farhan Khan, brother-in-law of one of the suspects involved in a shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., spoke during a news conference at the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in Anaheim, Calif. Wednesday. (Matt Masin/The Orange County Register via AP)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Farhan Khan, brother-in-law of one of the suspects involved in a shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., spoke during a news conference at the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in Anaheim, Calif. Wednesday. (Matt Masin/The Orange County Register via AP)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two women embraced at a community center where family members gathered to pick up survivors after a shooting rampage that killed multiple people and wounded others at a social services center in San Bernardino, Calif. on Wednesday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two women embraced at a community center where family members gathered to pick up survivors after a shooting rampage that killed multiple people and wounded others at a social services center in San Bernardino, Calif. on Wednesday.
A SWAT vehicle carried police officers near the scene of a shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. on Wednesday. (Micah Escamilla/Los Angeles News Group via AP)
A SWAT vehicle carried police officers near the scene of a shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. on Wednesday. (Micah Escamilla/Los Angeles News Group via AP)
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. » California gunman Syed Rizwan Farook had been in contact with known Islamic extremists on social media, a U.S. intelligence official said today, and police said he and his wife had enough bullets and bombs to slaughter hundreds when they launched their deadly attack on a holiday party.
The details emerged as investigators tried to determine whether the rampage that left 14 people dead was terrorism, a workplace grudge or some combination.
The husband-and-wife killers were not under FBI scrutiny before the massacre, said a second U.S. official, who likewise was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Wearing black tactical gear and wielding assault rifles, Farook, a 28-year-old county restaurant inspector, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, sprayed as many as 75 rounds into a room at a social service center for the disabled, where about 75 of Farook’s co-workers had gathered Wednesday morning. Farook had attended the event but slipped out and returned in battle dress.
Four hours later and two miles away, the couple died in a furious gunbattle in which they fired 76 rounds, while 23 law officers unleashed about 380, police said.
On Thursday, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan offered a grim inventory that suggested Wednesday’s bloodbath could have been far worse.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
At the social service center, the couple left three rigged-together pipe bombs with a remote-control detonating device that apparently malfunctioned, and they had more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition remaining when police killed them in their rented SUV, Burguan said.
At a family home in the nearby town of Redlands, they had 12 pipe bombs, tools for making more, and over 3,000 additional rounds of ammunition, the chief said.
“We don’t know if this was workplace rage or something larger or a combination of both,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in Washington, echoing President Barack Obama. “We don’t know the motivation.”
Investigators are trying to determine whether Farook, who was Muslim, became radicalized — and, if so, how — as well as whether he was in contact with any foreign terrorist organization, said the U.S. intelligence official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The same official said Farook had been in touch on social media with extremists who were under FBI scrutiny.
The second U.S. official said the FBI was treating the attack as a potential act of terror but had reached no conclusion that it was. The official said Farook had communication with individuals who were under FBI scrutiny. But the contact was with “people who weren’t significant players on our radar,” dated back some time, and there was no immediate indication of a surge in communication before the shooting.
The official cautioned that such contact by itself doesn’t mean someone is a terrorist.
Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that tracks and analyzes extremists, said it hasn’t found any connection between Farook and jihadi groups. But she also said that some of Farook’s social media posts seem to have been deleted before the attack.
Wednesday’s rampage was the nation’s deadliest mass shooting since 2012, when 26 children and adults were slain in Newtown, Connecticut.
In San Bernardino, a Southern California city of 214,000, the victims ranged in age from 26 to 60. A further 21 people were injured, including two police officers, authorities said. Two of the wounded remained in critical condition Thursday.
Nearly all the dead and wounded were county employees.
Authorities said the attack was carefully planned.
“There was obviously a mission here. We know that. We do not know why. We don’t know if this was the intended target or if there was something that triggered him to do this immediately,” David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said as the bureau took over the investigation.
Farook has no known criminal record, Burguan said. He was born in Chicago to a Pakistani family, raised in Southern California and worked at San Bernardino County’s Department of Public Health for two stints totaling four years since 2010, according to authorities and acquaintances. The Saudi Embassy said he traveled to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2014 for nine days.
As for Malik, she came to the U.S. in July 2014 on a Pakistani passport and a fiancée visa, authorities said. To get the visa, immigrants submit to an interview and biometric and background checks — screening intended to identify anyone who might pose a threat.
They were married on Aug. 16, 2014, in nearby Riverside County, according to their marriage license. Both listed their religion as Muslim.
The couple had a 6-month-old daughter who they dropped with relatives Wednesday morning before the shooting.
Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama, said his review of mass public shootings in the U.S. indicates this is the first one in recent history involving a male-female team.
Farook was a devout Muslim who prayed every day and recently memorized the Quran, according to brothers Nizaam and Rahemaan Ali, who attended Dar Al Uloom Al Islamiyah mosque in San Bernardino with Farook.
Rahemaan Ali said he last saw Farook three weeks ago, when he abruptly stopped going to the mosque. Ali said Farook seemed happy and his usual self, and the brothers never saw a violent side.
“He never ever talked about killing people or discussed politics, or said that he had problems at work,” Rahemaan Ali said. “He always had a smile on his face.”
Federal authorities said Farook legally bought two handguns used in the massacre and their two assault rifles were legally bought by someone else. Authorities did not say how the rifles got into the attackers’ hands.
Farook apparently was no stranger to guns.
A profile on a matchmaking website for South Asians that matched Farook’s name, California hometown, county health job and Muslim faith said his interests included target shooting in his backyard. Though the date of the posting was not clear, it listed his age as 22 so it could have been six years old.
Two weeks ago, Farook and one of the co-workers he killed, 52-year-old Nicholas Thalasinos, had a heated conversation about Islam, according to Kuuleme Stephens, a friend of the victim.
Stephens said she happened to call Thalasinos while he was talking with Farook at work. She said Thalasinos told her Farook “doesn’t agree that Islam is not a peaceful religion.”
As for workplace conflicts, co-worker Patrick Baccari said that until the rampage, Farook showed no signs of unusual behavior and was a reserved young man.
Baccari said he was sitting at the same table as Farook before Farook suddenly disappeared, leaving his coat on his chair. Baccari was in the bathroom when the shooting started; he suffered minor wounds from shrapnel slicing through the wall.
One of the first officers to reach the room said the carnage was “unspeakable” and the scene overwhelming — the smell of gunpowder, the wails of the injured, the blood, fire sprinklers pumping and fire alarms blaring. All in a room with a Christmas tree and decorations on every table.
“As we entered,” said San Bernardino Police Lt. Mike Madden, “the situation was surreal.”
___
Associated Press writers Brian Melley, John Antczak, Christopher Weber, Christine Armario and Gillian Flaccus in Los Angeles; Ken Dilanian, Eric Tucker and Tami Abdollah in Washington; Amy Taxin and Kimberly Pierceall in Redlands; Alina Hartounian in Phoenix; Ellen Knickmeyer in San Francisco; Michael Sisak in Philadelphia; and Holbrook Mohr in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this story. Pritchard reported from Los Angeles.
41 responses to “Officials: California gunman was in touch with extremists”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Obama is on TV now–says he knows nothing but takes :20 minutes to say so. Doesn’t he have cabinet members? It’s called delegation!!
obama, who says that loving a tree is the true message of christmas, proudly exhibits his vast knowledge of nothing. gruber voters accept his every word as gospel.
Sad we live in a different world these days
The world has not changed that much, back in the Middle Ages the Crusaders and the Muslims were at each other throats. Back then they had the Popes as commanders leading his loyal troops to battle the non-Christians. Today it ISIL and the radical Islam.
What we call Palestine was Jewish for thousands of years and then mostly Christian until it was invaded and conquered by Arab Muslims.
The crusades were a response to this, and were an attempt to return it to Christianity. They initially succeeded but in the end were defeated.
The crusades were not led by the popes into battle. They were led by various kings, dukes, emperors, etc,
If other people had firearms maybe these scum bags would be dead before it started.
A guy across the street was armed but didn’t engage. He witnessed the attackers get into their SUV and drive off. Said he was protecting his business and employees locked in their office.
Smart business owner.
Could have created a worse problem. Responding officers could have shot him thinking he was a suspect. Lots of blue on blue shootings occurr like this.
Dream hard. It’s unlikely people will carry a gun wherever they go. And if so, terrorists will pick on those who won’t be gun carrying, like kids. Even if you have a gun, you’re not as well prepared and will be out powered.
In the last four years, more people have died in the United States from guns (including suicides and accidents) than Americans have died in the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq combined.
True, but if you eliminate, Detroit, Chicago and DC—all 100% Democratic strongholds the numbers go WAY down.
I really don’t see the correlation between party and gun deaths. But, if you want to look at deaths per population, all are Republican. Total deaths, irregardless of population is highlighted by California, but Texas and Florida are 2 and 3.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/Firearm.htm
Funny you should say that Ad1. Correlations between the two Parties do indeed exist!…The Democrats(Harry Reid) are Blaming the GOP for this shooting.
Wants more gun restrictions.And the GOP’s response?They are sending their condolences and prayers to the Families and friends ,who were affected by the shooting…..Why is there an influx of gun purchases,when something like this happens?Why Because.Americans Needs to Protect them selves…..i digress
Yes !Liberal mindset at work.This is what happens to the Democratic party when FRUSTRATION sets in…They fail to admit or recognize what it really is ,they just Blame the GOP…. How Convenient. Watch this they’ll turn it around & blame it on a……let’s see? “Job”/”Work Place” related shooting, instead of what it really is…. a Terrorist Attack! Hope Gov takes precaution,California is our Closest Neighbor. IMUA
Sorry, I think you’re missing the point. The correlation we are discussing here is whether or not a state’s typical controlling party has an effect on gun related deaths. And it is serious’ position that Dem states have higher incidences, my point was that no, the numbers do not support that position.
So, that being said, would you please clarify what you are talking about. Because after reading your comment, I see party line arguments made, but nothing more.
Good idea: “eliminate” a huge amount of data from the apposing viewpoint. I bet you win a lot of arguments that way.
Ad1, Serious is correct. He did not mention states. He mentioned cities controlled by Democrats for many years.
BBC: “It’s just another day in the United States, another day of gunfire, panic, and fear.”
Looks like the perps have possible muslim names. Nice couple with a baby and stuff. Next thing you know they wearing assault gear with the intent to committ murder. Hope Ige taking notes that people from the Middle East or any other country for that matter may be unassuming until they start blasting away at innocent people. Stricter background checks is needed for anyone coming into our country. Pretty sure these latest perps weren’t born and raised here. Just saying.
From the article….”Farook was born in the U.S. to a Pakistani family.” Please stop providing more evidence that Hawaii is the dumbest state. We already have Thos, Ronin and Keonigohan contributing to that daily here.
His wife was not born here. I seriously doubt this was work place violence .
And husband went to saudi arabia for about a month. When he returned, started to grow a beard…….looks like a duck, sounds like a duck……..
But, as Choyd noted, he is still an American. So, Lokela’s point about background checks for immigrants is mute, at least where the husband is concerned.
The wife was the terrorist who married him to infiltrate the country. Who else would sacrifice their baby to kill Americans?
Sarge22,
Your observations may have correct as of this morning. Da.. Stupid Adam following Eve !
We are not the dumbest state – we celebrate muslim day here and welcome all reugees from the middle east.
Not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are muslims. Go figure that.
Tell that to Obama.
Well the Nobel Peace Award recipient actually bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia on his first visit with the Wahhabi ruler. Strange for a non-Muslim?
I think there are more in U.S., came in a while ago from the North. I also think there are,”sleepers” here with clean backgrounds, well educated, gainfully employed. Those under surveillance by the government know that they are, they are the distraction.
“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 told CBS.
Spoken less than a month after 129 are gunned down in Paris.
See the attached list of 95 “rampage” killings in Europe, not even inclusive of school massacres, workplace killings, hate crimes, or mass murders that took place primarily in a domestic environment, like familicides, which are covered in their own categories. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers_(Europe).
It’s not that we don’t have a problem with violence in this country, we do, but the fact is that gun homicides have declined nearly 49% since 1993. However, we have a greater problem— the seat warmer now occupying the chair in the Oval Office.
IF it is deemed a Terrorist act will the WH_Community_Organizer_Seat_Warmer say it was “Islamist Radical Terrorist”? I say no.
Hillary is shouting out in a speech yesterday “Gun Control”…she is a an Extremist Left zealot who missed the bulleye again.
Sorry, would you please clarify the point you are trying to make.
Points:
1. Mr. Obama is factually wrong in his statement regarding rampage shootings.
2. Being factually wrong is not an obstacle for the man since he is driven by bias and preconception.
An hour before the San Bernadino shooting, Donald Trump appeared on a radio show and heaped praise on the host, a man who has claimed that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.
ISIS is in all 50 states. Is anyone our our leaders paying attention? Talk to your family, friends and neighbors the THREAT is real. Unfortunately it has to happen before anything will be done. auwe!
Gov Ige certainly is not paying attention. He just wants to invite more immigrants to Hawaii despite the fact that the FBI Director stated that all of the Syrian refugees cannot be adequately screened as Ige falsely claimed.
Ige is so FULL of….Aloha
That’s a nice way of saying it.
this killing was a terrorist attack by these two jihadist radical Muslims which a lot of them are here in the U.S. rather they be citizens or not. jihad is in America already and has been here for years. remember OBL his word was to all Muslims in the world and the U.S. to kill all the Americans anywhere, any place, it is your duty as a Muslim to kill all of those who are descendants of monkeys and pigs as were called. they found a bomb factory in this couples home. I would check out there close friends and search there houses for any bomb material they may have gotten from there friend Farook. could be they also have vest bombs for suicide attacks on us so beware America this is only the beginning.
Recently governors voicing opposition to accepting refugees were castigated by the liberal media as afraid of migrant women and children. Yesterday a 27 year old mother of a 6 months old baby was involved the shootings where 14 were killed and many others injured. Recent events indicated that a Palestinian women and male child stabbed several Israelian. Radicalization is not confined to only males but included individuals that are easlily influenced by religious fervor. Thus more serious consideration must be given in the vetting process before granting amnesty.