This morning's New York Daily News. |
Chief Jarrod Burguan of the San Bernardino Police Department identified the two suspects as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27. Mr. Farook was born in the United States. Family members say they were married and had a 6-month-old daughter.
Who else was involved?
Chief Burguan said it was not clear if a third person taken into custody after the shootout with the police was involved.
"We are reasonably confident that we have two shooters and we have two dead suspects,” he said.
Where did the weapons come from?
Guns used by the couple suspected of the massacre that killed 14 people and wounded 17 at a social services center in San Bernardino, California, were purchased legally in the United States, federal officials said Thursday.
The Associated Press, citing the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said two of the weapons — two assault rifles and two handguns — were purchased by someone who is now under investigation.
Was the attack premeditated?
The couple appeared to have planned the attack, but the motive for the deadliest U.S. mass shooting since Sandy Hook has not been determined, investigators said. At least 10 of the 17 injured were listed in critical condition early Thursday, NBC reported.
And of course, was this terrorism?
A couple who died in a hail of bullets after allegedly killing 14 people during a Christmas party at a state-run center for people with developmental disabilities left their six-month-old daughter with her grandmother before the onslaught.
U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and wife Tashfeen Malik, 27, were killed in a shootout with police more than four hours after the rampage at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, on Wednesday.
Farook had been at the party before the shooting and left "under some circumstances that were described as angry," San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters Wednesday night. Farook worked as a health inspector for the county health department for five years.
However, authorities would not rule out terrorism as a motive. Farook and Malik were wearing tactical gear and armed with assault-style rifles when they were killed, Burguan said, adding "there had to be some degree of planning.
"Between 10 and 30 minutes passed from when Farook left the party and the shooting began, according to Burguan.
"These people came prepared to do what they did as if they were on a mission," Burguan said. "They were armed with long guns, not with handguns."
As you may imagine the mere fact that this couple were Muslim may be all it takes for many to categorize the shooting as terrorism. Considering the actions of this couple, I am not disputing that it was terrorism at this point, however whether it is or isn't should not be determined by their religion, or ethnicity.
Whatever the motivation, or way the shooting is categorized, there is not arguing that it was an incredibly troubling and terrifying event. And the fact that it happened in a place that cares for the developmentally challenged only makes it more so.
There is also no arguing with the fact that this attack was carried out with weaponry that is easily, and legally available in the United States of America.
You know, the land of the free, the home of the brave, the nation of the terrorized?