San Bernardino shooting: Suspect was radicalized - officials

Two suspects were killed in a shootout with police following a pursuit hours after the mass shooting. The suspects were identified late Wednesday as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, who were married. Farook was an American citizen.

Syed Rizwan Farook apparently was radicalized and in touch with people being investigated by the FBI for international terrorism, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

The two suspects are believed to have walked into a holiday party luncheon for San Bernardino County Department of Health employees held at the Inland Regional Center at 11 a.m. Wednesday and “sprayed” the room with gunfire, Burguan said.

In a 5:45 p.m. news conference Thursday, San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said there were 91 invited guests at the banquet; there were 75 to 80 people present in the room when the shooting began.

Burguan said that of the 14 people who were killed at the IRC, 12 were county employees. He said that of 21 people injured in the IRC shooting, 18 were identified as county employees.

The suspects were described as wearing black tactical gear, and were seen fleeing in a black SUV. The area was locked down while emergency personnel responded.

Information led investigators to a residence in the nearby city of Redlands. While surveilling that house, authorities witnessed the two suspects leaving, and a police pursuit was initiated. The pursuit led into San Bernardino, blocks away from the original scene of the shooting.

The suspect vehicle stopped and the two suspects exchanged gunfire with 27 officers. Burguan said Thursday the suspects fired 76 rifle rounds at officers before the pair was killed on the spot.

Burguan said Malik, the female suspect, fired out of the rear of the SUV. Farook, the male suspect, was driving, and fired as he exited the vehicle to engage the officers in a shootout.

Both suspects were in possession of assault rifles and handguns, Burguan said.

Investigators found more than 1,400 .223-caliber rounds in the vehicle, and about 200 9mm rounds on their persons.

Two officers were injured. One San Bernardino police officer was wounded in the left leg but was expected to be released from a hospital Thursday morning. A sheriff's deputy sustained cuts on a leg.

Seven police agencies were involved in Wednesday's event, Burguan said.

Burguan said there was no further threat to the area. A motive for the attack was not immediately determined.

An investigation of the Redlands residence revealed 12 "pipe-bomb-type” devices in the house and its garage, and tools and materials for making IEDs or pipe bombs were also found. As many as 2,500 .223-caliber rifle rounds were also located at the residence.

Both suspects were listed on the rental agreement of the Redlands residence, police said Thursday.

Burguan said Farook had no known criminal record. At least one of the handguns was legally purchased by Farook, police said, but the rifles were legally purchased by someone else, police said.

The suspect vehicle was identified as a rented black Ford Expedition SUV with Utah plates.

There were several suspected explosive devices encountered during Wednesday's investigation.

A third person was detained following the shootout with police. He was later determined to have no connection to the incident and was not named a suspect nor a person of interest.

Farook and Malik had been married for two years, according to Hussam Ayloush, head of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, KTLA reported Thursday. The couple left their 6-month-old girl with Farook's grandmother Wednesday and said they had a doctor's appointment.

Farook was an environmental health specialist with the San Bernardino County health department, which was hosting the holiday party at the Inland Regional Center where the attack took place, KTLA reported Thursday, and he had been there five years. He graduated from California State University, San Bernardino, with a degree in environmental health in 2009.