A man and a woman opened fire at an office Christmas party in San Bernardino, California at around 11am on Wednesday killing 14 people and wounding a further 17.
Police identified the shooters as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27.
The pair were armed with rifles and handguns, which were purchased legally, and dressed in 'assault-style' clothing.
They were later killed in a shoot-out with police after fleeing the scene in a black 4x4.
Detectives then found three 'pipe-bomb style devices' at the scene of the killings which have now been destroyed.
It is the worst mass shooting in America since the Sandy Hook massacre in December 2012 in which 26 people were killed.
Who were the victims?
There is little information on those who lost their lives and police said they did not yet know the identities of the deceased.
Many of the victims were treated on the street outside the Inland Regional Center, which includes a facility for disabled adults and a school for the blind.
One police officer was wounded in the shoot-out which resulted in Farook and Malik's deaths.
Farook's brother-in-law Farhan Khan has publicly condemned the killings and said: "I am in shock that something like this could happen.
"I cannot express how sad I am for what happened today. My condolences to the people who lost their life."
What was the motive.
Police said the attack "required some degree of planning" and the shooters "came prepared" as if they were "on a mission".
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said Farook, who worked for the public health department, had been at the office party with colleagues.
He said Farook left early in "angry circumstances" and returned later with Malik.
It is unclear what the precise target was and if the attack was a case of workplace violence but terrorism has not been ruled out.
Who are the killers?
Syed Farook is a US-born Muslim described as being 'very religious'. Syed Rizwan Farook is 28-years-old and is US-born, police said.
He was a food hygiene inspector for the city's public health department where he had worked for five years.
It is believed he was married to Tashfeen Malik, 27, who is from Saudi Arabia.
The couple, who reportedly met online, lived with Farook's mother in the Redlands district, a working-class suburb of San Bernardino.
They also had a six-month-old daughter and a colleague said Farook had only recently returned from paternity leave.
Farhan Khan, who is married to Farook's sister, said he last saw Farook about a week ago and had "no idea why he would do something like this".
Farook's father, Syed Farook Snr, said his son was a Muslim who was "very religious".
Colleagues described Farook as "completely normal" and "real quiet".
No comments:
Post a Comment