Orange County Deputies on Alert in Wake of Mass Shooting in San Bernardino

Police Departments throughout Orange County and Southern California -- already on heightened alert following the Paris terrorist attacks -- closely monitored the mass shooting today at a San Bernardino treatment center for people with developmental disabilities, while similar facilities in the Southland closed their doors for the day.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: ACTIVE SHOOTER: Bomb Squad Now at Scene of Mass Shooting In California

Fourteen people were killed and 17 others were shot during the attack.

“We do not know where the suspects are,” San Bernardino police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters at the scene. “They came prepared to do what they did as if they were on a mission.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is on alert and on standby to assist in San Bernardino, said Lt. Jeff Hallock, a spokesman for the department.

“We are remaining vigilant and monitoring factual developments as they become available,” said Hallock. ”Our Coroner Division has been contacted by San Bernardino County and requested to stand by for possible mutual aid responses.”

In a precautionary move, other regional centers throughout the region closed for the day. In a notice posted on the Torrance center’s website, officials said, “There is no reason to expected that there could be any similar activity at any other regional center but in an abundance of caution Harbor Regional Center is closed for today. We will monitor the news and our thoughts are with the staff and clients of IRC.”

Details of the shooting were still sketchy and the motivations for the attack were not immediately known.

uthorities said the shooting involved three gunmen, and they were believed to be wearing body armor and armed with “long guns.” They fled the scene in a dark-colored SUV. Around 4 p.m., police tracked down what appeared to be the SUV in San Bernardino and a gunbattle ensued.

At least one suspect was apparently killed in the exchange of gunfire, which left the SUV riddled with bullets. A second suspect was believed to be inside the vehicle, either dead or seriously wounded, but with an automatic weapon strapped to his chest.

A third suspect managed to flee into a neighborhood, and as of late afternoon, police and sheriff’s deputies were going house-to-house in a massive containment area.

Authorities said the shooting involved three gunmen, and they were believed to be wearing body armor and armed with “long guns.” They fled the scene in a dark-colored SUV and were still at large, police said.

Agents from the Los Angeles field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene, according to the federal agency. Officials from the FBI were also dispatched to the scene.

“We are confirming that we are responding to assist San Bernardino authorities who have the lead on the investigation,” according to Laura Eimiller of the FBI.

Agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also on scene.

President Barack Obama was briefed on the shooting. Gov. Jerry Brown was also briefed and “is closely monitoring this disturbing and ongoing situation unfolding in San Bernardino,” according to the governor’s Twitter page.

The city of Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center was activated “out of an abundance of caution” to monitor the situation, but city officials said there are “no known impacts from the shooting in the city.

According to the facility’s Facebook page, 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.

“As an agency among agencies, Inland Regional Center coordinates with generic services to normalize the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families by working to include them in the everyday routines and life rhythms of the community and by facilitating needed supports for them,” according to the center’s Facebook page.

As the shooting investigation unfolded, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued a reminder that people can take steps to try to protect themselves in an active-shooter situation. The department has a website and video available with tips at activeshooter.lasd.org.

City News Service