California shooters 'pledged allegiance' to IS, reports say (Updated)

The mass shooting in California is being investigated as "an act of terrorism," the FBI said Friday, amid reports the female assailant had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group on Facebook.

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Saturday morning update

California shooting investigated as 'act of terrorism'

San Bernardino, United States, Dec 5, 2015, AFP – The mass shooting in California is being investigated as "an act of terrorism," the FBI said Friday, amid reports the female assailant had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group on Facebook.

The developments in the probe come two days after 14 people were killed and 21 others wounded at a year-end office party in San Bernardino.

US-born Syed Farook, 28, and his 27-year-old Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik were killed in a firefight with police hours after the attack, leaving investigators to comb through their belongings to try to determine a motive.

"We have uncovered evidence that has led us to learn of extensive planning," David Bowdich, the assistant FBI director in charge of the Los Angeles office, told reporters.

"There's a number of pieces of evidence that has essentially pushed us off the cliff to say we are now investigating this as an act of terrorism."

He added that investigators were examining a Facebook posting in which Malik is believed to have pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, made around the time of Wednesday's attack.

"I'm aware of the Facebook posting," Bowdich said. "And yes, there was a pledge of allegiance."

FBI director James Comey said the probe so far had shown that the couple were radicalised and inspired by "foreign terrorist organisations," but were not part of a larger group or cell.

Bowdich said investigators were scrutinizing evidence seized at the couple's home and elsewhere to determine what prompted the carnage.

"They attempted to destroy their digital fingerprints and we found cell phones that were actually crushed in a nearby trash can," Bowdich said.

A pro-IS news agency, Aamaq, on Friday said the mass shooting was perpetrated by sympathisers of the radical group, which has urged followers in the United States and elsewhere to carry out lone wolf attacks.

Friday morning update

California shooters had massive arsenal: police

San Bernardino, United States, AFP – A young couple who killed 14 people in a shooting in California had amassed a huge arsenal and carefully planned their attack, authorities said Thursday, refusing to rule out terrorism.

There were competing theories as to what drove US-born Syed Farook, 28, described as a committed Muslim, and his 27-year-old wife Tashfeen Malik to spray gunfire at a holiday party in San Bernardino, about an hour's drive east of Los Angeles.

The attack, which left 21 people wounded, was the deadliest in the United States since the 2012 massacre at a school in Connecticut that left 26 people dead, including 20 children.

San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan said Farook and his wife – who dropped off their six-month-old daughter with Farook's mother shortly before the killings – fired about 75 rounds during the attack at a disabilities center that required "a degree of planning."

But the latest mass shooting in the United States could have been worse, after Burguan revealed that explosives rigged to a remote-controlled car were found at the scene of the carnage but the device failed to go off.

Another 1,600 rounds of ammunition were found on the couple and in their bullet-riddled black SUV after a police chase and shootout in which they died. Two police officers were wounded in the rapid exchange of gunfire on a quiet residential street, though neither seriously.

About 5,000 additional rounds, 12 pipe bombs and bomb-making material were also found at the home the couple shared.

"Nobody just gets upset at a party, goes home and puts together that kind of elaborate scheme," Burguan said, after indications that Farook had attended the party organised by the health department and left following a dispute, only to return a short time later with Malik.

He said the duo were dressed in black military-style gear and carried assault weapons and semi-automatic handguns when they raided the Inland Regional Center shortly before lunch time Wednesday.

Acquaintances told AFP that Farook, who worked for the local county as an environmental inspector, married his Pakistan-born wife last year during a trip to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.

Thursday's stories

20:30 update

This video is being shown on CNN, but the original appears to have been posted to YouTube as well. I'm not sure how long it will be online (the young man may want to sell it) but it shows clearly how dramatic and dangerous the police chase was. Dozens of police cars followed the SUV which the killers used to try to get away and the gunfight on the highway was intense. Please pardon the less-than-polite language of the young man who took the video.

3pm update

It is now after midnight in California, so there are unlikely to be major updates for a while. Here is the latest story from AFP. Audio for this story can be found at the end of the full text.

Two California shooting suspects named, both dead

San Bernardino, United States, Dec 3, 2015 AFP – Two heavily-armed suspects, a man and a woman in their 20s, have died in a shootout with police after killing 14 people at a Christmas party in California in America's deadliest mass shooting in three years.

Police identified the two as Syed Farook, a 28-year-old US citizen who worked for the local county, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, whose nationality was unknown. They said the suspects were either married or in a relationship.

Jarrod Burguan, San Bernardino's police chief, confirmed that both were dead, and that police no longer believed a third suspect was at large.

The shooters targeted a year-end party taking place at a social services building in San Bernardino, about an hour's drive east of Los Angeles, killing 14 people and wounding 17 more.

"We don't have the motive at this point," the police chief said. "We have not ruled out terrorism."

According to Burguan, Farook was a county employee and environmental specialist within the public health department.

He and Malik were dressed in military-style gear and carried assault weapons as they burst into the auditorium where the bloodbath took place, lent out for the holiday party by the Inland Regional Center for the disabled.

Burguan said Farook had attended the Christmas party organised by the health department and left after an apparent dispute, only to return a short time later and carry out the carnage.

"He did leave the party early under some circumstances that were described as angry or something of that nature," he said.

But Burguan said this was unlikely to be a crime committed in the heat of the moment.

"Based upon what we have seen and based upon how they were equipped, there had to be some degree of planning that went into this," he said.

"So I don't think that he just ran home, put on these types of tactical clothes, grabbed guns and came back on a spur of the moment thing."

FBI agents in the early evening raided an apartment in the nearby town of Redlands, where the two suspects were seen before the police chase that ended in a shootout a few miles from the Inland Center.

11:30 update

There are suspicions that the shooting incident may have been caused by some kind of workplace dispute. One of the suspects has been identified as Syed Farook, an American citizen, who worked for the county health department, apparently the same department which was holding the Christmas party for staff members. He was thought to have been at the party and left abruptly, before a man (not yet confirmed as Mr Farook) and  a female accomplice entered with heavy weapons. Mr Farook was quickly identified as having been at the party and police were therefore able to get to his home  very rapidly. There, the man and his accomplice were spotted driving past in their SUV. A chase ensued and the two were later killed in a shootout with police. Two of the injured are in critical condition.

9:10 update

A press conference has just taken place and another expected in a few hours. An FBI representative said that they have not ruled out terrorism, but they also do not have evidence that terrorism was involved.

There are also reports that the was an altercation at the Christmas party for county officials where the shooting took place and a man left before it took place and possibly returned with the shooters, but that is still unclear.

San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan led the press conference. Here,from AFP, is the key information that was revealed:

"A man and a woman suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting at a center for the disabled in California on Wednesday were killed in a shootout with police, while a third person was detained.

The slain suspects were armed with assault rifles and handguns, San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters, adding that investigators were looking at the possibility that the suspects had left an explosive device at the scene of the shooting.

David Bowdich, the FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, cautioned against using the term "terrorism" to describe the incident, saying: "It is a possibility, but we don't know that yet. And we're not willing to go down that road yet."

The Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, quoting law enforcement officials, reported that one of the assailants, who had worked at the facility, had left the party following a dispute with fellow employees and returned with one or two others.

Burguan told reporters it was not yet clear if those involved in the dispute were the people who opened fire.

New (9:50): Several US news organisations are reporting one of the dead suspects is Syed Farook, an American citizen. His brother is believed to be a second suspect. Police have not confirmed the identities, however.The female suspect has not been identified.

A search is being carried out at an apartment in nearby Redlands, California, where the suspects were believed to have fled to after the shootings.

Everyone, of course, wants to know for sure if this was simply a crime, or was it domestic terrorism or, in the worst-case scenario, was it a case of international terrorism related to the violence in the Middle East

An earlier report from AFP

At least 14 dead in California mass shooting

San Bernardino, United States, AFP – Up to three gunmen opened fire at a center for the disabled in California on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and triggering a dramatic street shootout as police hunted down the suspects.

Hours after the attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, local police engaged in a shootout with what they believed to be the attackers' vehicle, a black SUV.

"Suspects are down, one officer wounded. Details still unfolding," tweeted San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan.

Police were hunting for up to three gunmen following the attack, which also left 17 people injured, and Sergeant Vicki Cervantes told reporters one may still be on the loose.

"I believe there is still possibly a suspect outstanding," she said.

Cervantes said that a police officer suffered a non life-threatening injury during the shootout.

A body and what appeared to be a pool of blood could be seen near a bullet-riddled SUV that was surrounded by dozens of police vehicles.

Police swarmed the residential neighbourhood with officers, guns drawn, as residents were told to stay in their homes with the doors locked.

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