Investigators Sort Through 3 Crime Scenes in California's Deadly Mass Shooting

Federal and local police officials were working Thursday to piece together a deadly tragedy that took San Bernardino by storm a day earlier— sorting through evidence at three separate locations linked to a duo believed to be responsible for the attack.

A total of 14 people lost their lives Wednesday inside a local treatment center for people with developmental disabilities, when a man and woman opened fire. Another 21 were injured, according to the latest information provided Thursday by authorities.

The two behind the attack, identified by police as 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik, are both dead, killed in a gunfight with some 21 police officers who fired an estimated 380 rounds at the two.

Motive Sought

Federal officials from Los Angeles and elsewhere in the nation are now working to uncover the motive for the attack and determine if there was an international terrorism component or if it should be regarded strictly as workplace violence.

At a news conference Thursday morning, David Bowdich of the FBI said Malik came to the United States with Farook in July 2014 on a work visa and had a Pakistani passport. The couple married after arriving in the U.S.

Bowdich said investigators were working to determine why the couple opened fire on the victims, and he stressed that “the fact-finding process takes time.”

“We do not yet know the motive,” Bowdich said. “There was obviously a mission ... we do not know why.”

Bowdich said it would be “irresponsible” to describe the crime as terrorism until more is known.

Farook was born in the United States of Pakistani parents and was reported to be a five-year employee of the San Bernardino County public health agency, which was holding a holiday party during which the shooting erupted. The Los Angeles Times reported that Farook had traveled to Saudi Arabia last year and returned with a new wife he met online.

San Bernardino police Chief Jarrod Burguan, also at the news conference Thursday morning, said it was not known if any of the victims was specifically targeted by the couple.

“They sprayed the room with bullets,” Burguan said. He noted that Farook had been at the party earlier but left, possibly after having some type of dispute.

Burguan said the preliminary investigation determined that the suspects fired 65 to 75 rounds in the room. The couple wore black clothing and combat- style vests, but were not wearing body armor as had been earlier thought.

A candlelight vigil will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at San Manuel Stadium, 280 S. E St., San Bernardino.

Burguan said the community is tight-knit and resilient.

“We will survive this,” Burguan said.

On Wednesday, Farook’s brother-in-law Farhan Khan, who said he is the husband of Farook’s sister, told reporters his entire family is “shocked and very sorry for what happened.”

“We had no idea something (like) this could happen,” Khan said at an Anaheim news conference organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA).

Apparently fearing an anti-Muslim backlash, CAIR-LA’s Executive Director, Hussam Ayloush, issued a statement on behalf of the group and the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California.

“We condemn this horrific and revolting attack and offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed or injured,” Ayloush said. “The Muslim community stands shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Americans in repudiating any twisted mindset that would claim to justify such sickening acts of violence.”

Shooters “Came Prepared”

In a news briefing on Wednesday, Burguan said the attack reflected planning.

“Based upon what we have seen and based upon how they were equipped there had to have been some degree of planning to this,” he said. “I don’t think they just ran home, put on these types of tactical clothes, grabbed guns and came back on a spur of the moment thing.”

Police and witnesses said the assailants walked into the holiday party in a conference room and started shooting.

According to Burguan, the investigation led police to a home in Redlands, and as officers approached, Farook and Malik fled in a dark SUV. A pursuit ensued, ending back in San Bernardino, where a gun battle ensued. Farook and Malik were killed in the prolonged shootout, Burguan said. He said both suspects were armed with assault rifles and handguns.

At Thursday morning’s briefing, Burguan said a San Bernardino police officer suffered a leg wound that was not believed life-threatening, and a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy suffered leg cuts, possibly from shrapnel.

The suspects fired about 75 rounds during the gun battle, and about two dozen law enforcement officers fired about 380 rounds, Burguan said. The suspects had about 1,600 rounds of ammunition on them or in their vehicle, Burguan said.

What’s more, when police searched the Redlands home the duo had been renting, they found a huge cache of weapons. Burguan said that a dozen pipe bombs, tools for making explosives, and thousands of 9-millimeter handgun and .223-caliber assault rifle rounds were all found at the location.

Agents from the Los Angeles field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were sent to the scene of the morning shooting, along with personnel from the FBI. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations also responded to the shooting.

The Inland Regional Center has nearly 670 staff members and provides services to more than 30,200 people with developmental disabilities and their families in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Full coverage on Patch:

• Day After California Massacre, San Bernardino Residents Trapped in Homes
• Valley Village Father of 6 Killed in San Bernardino Massacre
• California Mass Shooting: What We Know About Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik
• 2015 ‘Mass Shootings’ In The United States: More Than One A Day
• ‘Moment of Silence’ at DC Tree Lighting for Mass Shooting Victims
• How You Can Help Survivors of the San Bernardino Mass Shooting
• Obama: Motives Unknown, But Action Needed After San Bernardino Mass Shooting
• Investigators Try to Determine If San Bernardino Attack Is Terrorism or Workplace Rampage

— City News Service contributed to this report.