Gunmen In San Bernardino Shooting Identified

Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, have been identified as suspects in the holiday party shooting massacre on Wednesday in San Bernardino, Calif., where 14 people were killed and over a dozen others injured, according to The Associated Press.

It represents the third mass shooting in the U.S. that was “carried out by a man and a woman whose motives are still unclear,” reports CNN.

But authorities do know that Farook, an American citizen, worked for five years as an environmental health specialist with the San Bernardino County health department, which was hosting the holiday party at the Inland Regional Center when the attack took place, according to CNN.

The couple had been married for two years, Hussam Ayloush, head of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, told CNN. They left their 6-month-old daughter with Farook’s grandmother, saying they had a doctor’s appointment, the report says.

But they actually went to the holiday party. Before the shooting, Farook was at the party, but left abruptly before returning with Malik and opening fire. After carrying out the attack, Farook and Malik led police on a chase. Farook fired at officers while Malik drove, officials said. They died in the shootout, which involved 21 officers, CNN reports.

Grieving co-workers expressed surprise that Farook was the shooter.

“I would say hi and bye. But we never engaged him in conversation. He didn’t say much at all,” Griselda Reisinger, a former co-worker, told The Los Angeles Times.

Farhan Khan, Farook’s brother-in-law, told reporters he was at a loss as to why the two would commit the shooting.

“I have no idea why he would he do something like this. I have absolutely no idea. I am in shock myself,” Khan said.

Investigators still have not classified the shooting as a terror attack.

SOURCE: CNN, The Los Angeles Times | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

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