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US Attorney General Offers ‘Any and All Assistance’ In California Mass Shooting Investigation
By: Associated Press
Posted on:
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) – The latest on the mass shooting at a social services facility in San Bernardino, California (all times local):
6:45 a.m.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says the Justice Department will be offering “any and all assistance necessary” as the investigation into the California mass shooting continues.
Lynch is speaking at an event about criminal justice at the White House. She says the shooting in California was “unspeakable.”
Lynch says the government doesn’t know a lot yet about the incident. But she says the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and other federal authorities have been dispatched.
The attorney general says whatever the results of the investigation, there’s no place for this type of violence in the U.S. She says that’s not what the country stands for or works for.
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5:40 a.m.
Police and federal agents are for a second day searching a home in connection to the massacre in San Bernardino, California.
A search team combed the residence early Thursday in neighboring Redlands, about 7 miles from the shooting at Inland Regional Center.
A black sedan parked outside was also searched.
The home is where officers initially saw a vehicle matching the description of the suspects’ SUV in the hours before the final gun battle that killed them. A bomb squad on Wednesday swept the building with robots.
Police didn’t immediately say if the suspects – Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik – lived at the home. Public records show it is a possible residence of a family member of Farook.
Residents tell KABC-TV Redlands is a “sleepy little town” and expressed shock that the killers might be their neighbors.
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3 a.m., Dec. 3, 2015
Federal authorities say that the two assault rifles and two handguns used in the San Bernardino massacre were all purchased legally in the United States – two of them by someone who’s now under investigation.
Meredith Davis of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives says investigators are now working to make a connection to the last legal purchaser.
She says all four guns were bought four years ago but she’s not saying whether they were purchased out of state or how and when they got into the hands of the two shooters.
Davis says California requires paperwork when guns change hands privately but many other states don’t.
She also says the rifles involved were .223-caliber – powerful enough to pierce the standard protective vest worn by police officers, and some types of ammo can even plow through walls.
3:30 p.m.
Police say shots have been fired and a suspect is down near a dark-colored SUV.
It’s unclear if the suspect is related to the deadly shooting Wednesday at a social services facility in Southern California. Police have said that the suspects may have fled in a dark SUV.
San Bernardino police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes said she knew of no officers who were injured in the shootout.
Television footage showed armored vehicles blocking the SUV on a residential street.
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3:20 p.m.
Police are pointing guns at a dark-colored SUV with shattered windows on a residential street.
Police have said that the suspects in the deadly shooting Wednesday at a social services facility in Southern California may have fled in a dark SUV.
Officers were keeping their distance, pointing their weapons at the vehicle, while more police raced to the scene.
Local media said there appeared to be a person on the ground but it was unclear who they were or what their injuries may be.
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3:10 p.m.
A board member of a Southern California social services center where gunmen killed at least 14 people says she has been trying to reach more than a dozen colleagues and workers but has only heard back from one.
Sheela Stark of the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino says she’s watching television to find familiar faces at the scene.
She says the center has two large buildings that require a badge to get in. However, the conference room where many public events take place – including a banquet Wednesday – is usually left open when they are expecting visitors.
Marybeth Field, the president and CEO of the center, says the shooting happened in a conference area where the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health was having a banquet.
The center employs more than 600 people.
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2:55 p.m.
Authorities say 10 of the 14 people wounded in a deadly shooting at a Southern California social services center were taken to hospitals in critical condition.
Fire Chief Tom Hannemann says three people were in serious condition. Authorities say an additional 14 victims were killed in the gunfire at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
The chief says firefighters were on the scene within seven minutes of the 11 a.m. Wednesday call and transported all the injured by 11:30 a.m.
Authorities say they are looking for up to three shooters and a motive is not yet known.
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2:45 p.m.
President Barack Obama says there’s a pattern of mass shootings in the U.S. that has no parallel elsewhere in the world.
Obama commented on the mass shooting at a California social services center in an interview with CBS News. Authorities say at least 14 people were killed and the motives of the shooters are not yet known.
Obama says there are steps the U.S. can take to reduce the frequency of mass shootings.
Obama is calling for the country to come together to make mass shootings a rare occurrence. He says the U.S. should never think mass shootings are a normal part of life.
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2:30 p.m.
Police say the attackers who killed an estimated 14 people at a Southern California social services center came prepared with long guns.
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan declined to say what kind of weapons they used at the Inland Regional Center. Burguan says a motive wasn’t yet clear, but that the shooters “were on a mission” and “came in with a purpose.”
He says police are looking for up to three shooters.
The attack was concentrated in one area of the building where most victims were shot, while hundreds of other people weren’t injured.
Burguan says it’s too early to say whether the attackers targeted that area or chose it out of convenience or at random.
The president and CEO of the center says the shooting happened in a conference area where the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health was having a banquet.
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2:20 p.m.
The president and CEO of the Southern California social services center where gunmen opened fire says the shooting happened in a conference area where the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health was having a banquet.
Marybeth Feild of the Inland Regional Center was not at the facility but says she is in contact with many employees. She says they told her the shooting happened Wednesday during a banquet for the health department.
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan estimates at least 14 people have been killed and about 14 wounded. Burguan says police are looking for up to three shooters.
He noted that most people were killed and wounded in same area. Authorities say bomb squads checked unidentifiable items in the center, but they didn’t know if the gunmen brought those items.
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2:10 p.m.
Police say that the suspects in the deadly shooting at a social services facility in Southern California may have fled in a dark-colored SUV.
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said at a news conference Wednesday that he estimates at least 14 people have been killed and about 14 wounded. He says the wounded have significant injuries that may be related to gunshots.
Burguan says they are looking for up to three shooters.
Authorities have locked down courts and increased police presence at other public facilities but didn’t know the motive of the attack.
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2 p.m.
Police estimate that at least 14 people have been killed and more than a dozen wounded in the shooting at a social services facility in Southern California.
Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said at a news conference Wednesday that the number of fatalities was a preliminary number and could change.
He says up to three shooters entered the building and opened fire at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
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1:55 p.m.
Police say no one is in custody after a shooting at a social services facility in Southern California and they are searching for suspects.
San Bernardino police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes confirmed to The Associated Press that multiple people were shot and some were killed Wednesday. She says there are reports from witnesses of between one and three shooters.
She says it is still an active situation and authorities have not located any suspects.
As far as she knows, police are still trying to clear the complex. All the roads surrounding the shooting scene are closed off, and police are warning people about the shooting.
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1:50 p.m.
At least 10 people have been taken to hospitals for treatment after the shooting at a social services facility in Southern California.
San Bernardino County announced on its Twitter account that six people were being treated at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, which is run by the county.
A spokeswoman for Loma Linda University Medical Center says four patients were taken to its trauma center.
Spokeswoman Briana Pastorino says she didn’t know their conditions. She says the hospital expects to get three more patients.
Authorities say multiple people were shot and some were killed Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
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1:30 p.m.
Marcos Aguilera says his wife was inside a social services facility in Southern California when gunfire erupted but she got out of the building unharmed.
He told KABC-TV that a shooter entered the building next to his wife’s office and opened fire.
Aguilera says they locked themselves in her office and saw bodies on the floor. He says his wife saw ambulances taking people out of the building on stretchers.
Authorities say multiple people were shot and some were killed Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
Police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes told KCBS-TV that police were searching for more than one gunman. She didn’t have specific numbers on the number of dead and injured.
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1:20 p.m.
A hospital says it’s received four patients in its trauma center after a shooting at a social services facility in Southern California.
Briana Pastorino, spokeswoman for Loma Linda University Medical Center, says she didn’t know their conditions. She says the hospital expects to get three more patients.
Authorities say multiple people were shot and some were killed Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
Police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes told KCBS-TV that police were searching for more than one gunman. She didn’t have specific numbers on the number of dead and injured.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s press office said on Twitter that the governor has been briefed and “is closely monitoring this disturbing and ongoing situation unfolding in San Bernardino.”
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1:05 p.m.
Police confirm that people have died in the shooting at a Southern California social services center.
San Bernardino police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes told KCBS-TV on Wednesday that “there are multiple casualties and there are some confirmed fatalities.” She says she doesn’t have specific numbers.
She told the television station that it appears there was more than one shooter. She believes they were wearing “military-style” attire.
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12:55 p.m.
Paul Lacroix said his son was able to escape after gunfire erupted at a Southern California social services center.
Lacroix told reporters Wednesday that his son texted him and told him alarms started going off and they got word there was shooting. He said his son was sheltered with a group of people before they managed to get out.
Authorities say multiple people were shot at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. Police were searching for one or more gunmen.
Lacroix said his son and colleagues were ordered to exit with their arms up and nothing in their hands.
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12:40 p.m.
The president and CEO of the Southern California social services center where gunfire has erupted says the focus is on a building that houses at least 25 employees as well as a library and conference center.
Marybeth Feild of the Inland Regional Center says “the incident is in the conference area” that an outside group was renting Wednesday. She says she is not at the center, which serves people with developmental disabilities and does not know what outside group rented the center.
Feild says people served by the center also would have been in the building, which is in San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
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12:30 p.m.
President Barack Obama has been brought up to date on the shooting at a Southern California social services center.
The White House says he was briefed by his homeland security adviser, Lisa Monaco, and has asked to be kept informed as the situation develops.
Authorities say multiple people were shot Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. Police were searching for one or more gunmen.
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12:25 p.m.
Police say they are searching for one or more gunmen after a shooting at a social services facility in Southern California.
San Bernardino Lt. Rich Lawhead said Wednesday that multiple people were shot at the Inland Regional Center.
Several law enforcement agencies converged on the scene in San Bernardino, and triage units were being set up in the area.
Some people were seen being wheeled away on gurneys, and others filed out of a building with their hands up.
The facility serves individuals with developmental disabilities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
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12:15 p.m.
Terry Petit says he got a text from his daughter saying she was hiding after gunfire erupted at the social services facility in Southern California where she works.
Petit choked back tears Wednesday as he read the texts for reporters outside Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
He says she wrote: “People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office.”
Police searched people filing out of a building with their hands up before they reunited with loved ones.
Ambulances and law enforcement vehicles are racing through the area with sirens blaring.
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11:58 a.m.
A gas station manager near the site of a shooting in Southern California says there is a flood of police activity in the area.
Ana Fuentes, manager of a Shell station about a block from the scene, estimates that there are about 150 police officers flooding the area.
She said she hasn’t gotten any instructions to stay inside but that customers coming in told her about the shootings at Inland Regional Center. The center says on its website that it provides social services to people with developmental disabilities.
Dozens of people filed out of the scene, holding their hands in their air. Other people were seen being wheeled away on gurneys.
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11:40 a.m.
Police in San Bernardino, California, are responding to reports of an active shooter at a social services facility.
Lt. Rich Lawhead said Wednesday there are reports of multiple victims.
No arrests have been made.
Sgt. Vicky Cervantes says police are working to secure the scene in the inland region east of Los Angeles.