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Mass Shooting in San Bernardino, California; San Bernardino Shooter Identified; Obama Once Again Calls for More Gun Laws; Britain Has Begun Air Strikes in Syria; DOJ Announcing New Charges Against FIFA Officials. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired December 3, 2015 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:07] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect's sister is his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is suspect's sister is your wife? OK.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And what is the name of your wife?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He doesn't wish to reveal that at this time. If I can invite Reverend Sarah to come up next, please, to share a few words.
REV. DR. SARAH HALVERSON-CANO: Reverend Dr. Sarah Halverson, S-A-R-A- H, H-A-L-V-E-R-S-O-N, dash Cano, C-A-N-O, Halverson-Cano.
I'm here as a pastor in the Christian faith. And certainly for us in this time of advent, we recognize the darkness in the world. And all of us have felt so much darkness today as we watch this unfold, this scary and frightening time. In the life of the United States --
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news top of the hour. It is midnight here on the East Coast. You're watching a press conference now from CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations. Let's go back to that press conference.
HALVERSON-CANO: God that we all share together. So I want to simply stand here and ask that all of us take a time for prayer this evening, to hold your family close, and to remember that our Islamic brothers and sisters are not at fault here. This certainly is not about the Muslim faith. We stand together, Muslims, Christians, Jews, people of all faiths, knowing that when we come together, we can be the best that God has called us to be so we can serve our nation and our communities as best as we can.
We join our Muslim brothers and sisters here at CAIR, Orange County, San Bernardino, Southern California in prayer. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Reverend Sarah. Next I would like to invite Reverend Mark Whitlock who is the senior minister of the AME Church. REVEREND MARK WHITLOCK, CHRIST OUR REDEEMER, AME CHURCH: Thanks.
Reverend Mark Whitlock, M-A-R-K, last name is Whitlock, W-H-I-T-L-O-C- K, senior minister of Christ Our Redeemer, AME Church in Irvine, California. President of the Orange County Interdenominational Alliance of some 120 churches here in Orange County. First, we condemn the hate that took place today --
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
LEMON: Again, this is our breaking news. Shortly after midnight here on CNN, a suspect in the worst mass shooting since Sandy Hook identified, the suspect identified as Syed Farook. Syed Farook, a U.S. citizen.
We're told that he is an inspector with the County Health Department. Abruptly left that event earlier today, left that event earlier today at the Inland Regional Center before the shootings. That's according to multiple sources here at CNN.
This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon. I want to bring you up to date on all of the information that we have. Again, we're learning the name of one of the suspects. Again, he is an inspector with the County Health Department. His name is Syed Farook.
We're also learning from the ATF that one of the guns used, there were four of them, one of the guns used in this event was legally purchased. Also we have information about what happened, how police were led to the house. They had a tip about -- apparently about this Syed Farook. And then once they were there, once they were there, they spotted a vehicle moving erratically, and then a -- a chase ensued after that where they shot both of the suspects, a man and a woman. Both wearing black tactical-style gear. Also finding ammunition and guns with them as well.
Also, we just heard at a press conference the suspect's name, again at the press conference. And we were hearing from the suspect's brother- in-law, the suspect's sister is his wife. His name is Farhan Khan, Farhan Khan, and he said he wanted to say that this was an awful event and that his heart went out to everyone. He said he spoke with Syed Farook about a week ago. He has no idea why he would do such a thing, and he didn't feel he wanted to speak beyond that because he needed more information.
But again, he is the brother-in-law of Syed Farook, speaking at that press conference just moments ago.
On the scene at a home in Redlands, California, we find CNN's Poppy Harlow where a search warrant is being executed right now. When we last heard from Poppy, there was a robot going inside of this home.
Poppy, what is the latest?
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest is that the police are being extraordinarily cautious, Don. They keep moving us back further and further away from the house in question. I've been speaking to people that live in the neighborhood. They said this is a sleeper community, a very tight knit community. They cannot believe this is happening. A neighbor just came up and showed me video that he claimed was taken of authorities breaking through glass windows to get inside that home or get the robot inside that home.
[00:05:06] What we know at this hour is what led them here was a tip. A tip to a name. The name we now know that you just put out there. A tip to a name. That name connected to the house here. This is about a 10-mile drive from where this shooting took place this afternoon. What happened is that that black SUV, while authorities were at the home, trying to figure out who lives there, the black SUV slowly drove by. All of the sudden, when they saw the authorities, they started speeding by, sped away.
That led to the police chase, Don, that you have described, where you had the woman driving you had the man shooting out of the car with something that looked like a bomb or a pipe bomb coming out of the car. That led to two suspects dead.
The question is, does the named person that we know now, was that person in the car? Is that a third person?
Well, we also know that I think is very important, Don, that we have learned in just about the last hour is that a third person that was seen running, running close to here by the home was detained by authorities. They're not giving us the name of the third person. They're not saying whether that third person is connected. May have just been an a unfortunate coincidence, if they aren't connected, or were they? That person has been detained at this hour.
But again, that black SUV with Utah plates slowly driving by, speeds away, chase ensues. Two people dead. Who is that third person? What is the connection at this hour? That is the question. The neighbors on either side we're told immediate neighbors have been told to evacuate their homes. Everyone else here in this neighborhood, almost no one on the street.
It's not very late here in California, Don. No one is really out. And what the neighbors in the area are told is to shelter in place at this hour.
LEMON: CNN's Poppy Harlow in Redlands, California for us.
Now to Kyung Lah in San Bernardino at the scene of this horrific mass shooting.
Kyung, you had some new information on the guns, at least one of the guns purchased -- legally purchased used in this event.
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We spoke with the ATF who is here on scene mainly because there's still a device that they have to deal with. We believe that that has now been dealt with because we've heard a couple of concussion sounds going off the ATF very concerned about an incendiary device. They believe they have taken care of it now. And so the temperature here at this particular scene is starting to cool. We're starting to see some vehicles starting to leave, but this is
still going to be a very long night processing this very, very difficult scene, Don. The information that we got from the ATF just a short time ago is that of the four guns that were found, you heard Poppy talking about the two suspects armed with two long guns and two handguns. One of those four guns, we don't know which one, but one of those four guns did trace back to a name that is a name that law enforcement is aware of, connected to this investigation. And law enforcement says that it was purchased legally. It was not stolen. It was purchased legally. It's the very latest we have on the trace of the guns.
The ATF working furiously, Don, to try to get the other three traces back as well.
LEMON: Kyung Lah.
Now to CNN's Evan Perez. Evan, you broke this information just moments ago on the suspect's name. One of the suspects named Syed Farook. He is an inspector with the County Health Department. Also believed, as you said, to be one of the people in this meeting or party or holiday event, and then abruptly left and they believe he came back.
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. And this is really a key piece of information, Don, simply because it gives us a reason as to why this shooting, why this event, why this person would have been there. He had ties to this event, to this County Health Department. And that's the reason why he was there. And what we don't know is exactly what the motivation was.
We know that law enforcement authorities believe that he was inside the event. And at some point there was some kind of altercation or some dispute. He left. And then came back. And that's when the shooting began. At least two people carried out the shooting at the Inland Regional Center. And again, that was at an auditorium or a conference facility that was being rented out by the County Health Department for their holiday festivities, for their Christmas party essentially.
We know that that -- once they very quickly realized who they're looking for, who they thought was a suspect, that's the reason why they went to that house in Redlands. And that's when they saw the SUV drive by slowly, and then eventually took off. So that's, again, what ties this all together.
We do know that the authorities are not sure whether or not there was ever a third shooter. Again, that was based on early reports from witnesses. And that is something that they're still working on. We still don't know whether the third person who was identified, who was detained at the scene of that second shoot-out just a little short distance away from the IRC, whether that person has anything to do with this event.
[00:10:06] Again, that's part of the investigation the FBI is doing. We do believe that the FBI wants to make sure that this is not a terrorism. They want to verify whether or not this is a terrorism- related event or whether or not, again, the tie that this suspect had to the County Health Department that was the scene of this initial shooting, whether that explains what happened here. Again, a lot of police work left to be done, Don.
LEMON: All right, Evan Perez, thank you very much.
I want to get back now to my panel of experts as we are learning new information about one of the suspects here. And you're hearing from his brother-in-law. I want to get to Steven Seager and get your assessment.
Mr. Seager, we have gone from, you know, terror to workplace event to, you know, possibly mental health. And it's not mutually exclusive. As Casey Jordan said, it could be a combination of a number of things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. And I think the point -- two points I want to make is look at all this. Never underestimate the power of untreated mental illness. Whether this turns out to be that or not, I also want to make another point. A lot of the physicians and my patients are Muslim. And that is not about Islam and it's not about Muslims. They're just as horrified by this as anyone. But it boils down to three things -- threat assessment, gun background checks and treating mental illness.
You can take whichever one want. If it's not this one, it's going to be the next one or the one after that or the one next week. Those three issues have to be dealt with. Whether this one turns out to be a disgruntled employment alone, which I think it will be, it will be the next one, will be terrorism. Those three issues have to be dealt with, whether it's now or whether it's later.
LEMON: Jonathan Gilliam, as you're looking at this, you in the beginning I think you thought it pointed towards terrorism. You still feeling that now?
JONATHAN GILLIAM, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I still think it's too early to completely identify what the motivation for this individual.
LEMON: Just because of his name, it does not mean that it has anything to do with --
GILLIAM: Yes, it doesn't mean anything. I mean, although, you know, when you look at what happened in Oklahoma where an individual beheaded somebody at work because it appeared at first that that was an argument at work. But when they went back and you look at the rhetoric that was on his Web page, on his Facebook page, that pointed more towards some type of radicalization. So I think it's a little right now at this point to say that it was absolutely terrorism, but I think the possibility is still there.
LEMON: Jim Maxwell, it was coordinated.
JIM MAXWELL: Yes, it was. You know, I won't rule it out. But if you look at what happened at Fort Hood, Hasan was influenced on the Internet by a known terrorist. It's not to say that this is the same case here. The investigation will show whether or not this guy had any outside influences, or whether if he was just a marginalized employee that got disgruntled and decided to act out.
LEMON: Cedric Alexander --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: It can go either way. Cedric Alexander is no longer with us. Pardon me for that. Harry?
HARRY HOUCK: Yes.
LEMON: You still --
HOUCK: I guess it could go either way. I don't think there is a third shooter. They recovered three weapons. Two automatic rifles and two pistols that were on the two -- the two bodies that they found inside the vehicle. No other weapons were found. This third gentleman that they arrested is in custody. They're not saying anything about this guy at all. I don't know if anybody saw three shooters at all at the location where this occurred. But I'm not exactly sure which way to go on this.
I mean, there are so many questions here. I thought looking at the FBI and their response that the FBI was definitely, you know, so deeply involved in this investigation.
LEMON: And sending in more agents.
HOUCK: Right. Sending in tons of agents and things like that. So I don't know where to go with this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the FBI was so involved because that is the fallout and legacy of the Paris attacks. And --
LEMON: It's possible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An overabundance of caution, they wanted to consider that it could be terrorism. And yet it can be both. Remember, there was that altercation. It was a provocation. It was a reason to go back out, get the guns, get the getaway car. It was anticipating it. Like so many disgruntled employee, Amy Bishop who didn't get tenure, went to her faculty meeting with a gun. They are ready for a confrontation. If it doesn't go their way, they're ready for violence. And by virtue of that, we are afraid. We are terrorized. But I don't think that this was an organized political or religious extremist thinking that motivated it. I think it was intrinsic.
LEMON: I would say that's it for our coverage tonight, but CNN is always on the air. That's never it for our coverage. We're going to see you back here tomorrow night. At least I will. Our coverage continues now with Isha Sesay in Los Angeles, John Vause who is in San Bernardino.
Good night. ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Thank you, Don. Hello, everyone. And thank you for joining us.
[00:15:01] It is just after 9:00 p.m. here on the U.S. West Coast. I'm Isha Sesay live in Los Angeles.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm John Vause live in Redlands, California.
You are watching CNN's breaking news coverage of a mass shooting at a social services center. It is the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since 20 children were murdered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School almost three years ago now. And this is what we know at this moment.
Fourteen people are dead. At least 17 others wounded after a number of people opened fire at that social services center. A large crowd was gathered for a holiday party. A law enforcement official says one of the suspects was at that party. There was some kind of argument, some kind of dispute, and then he left. The man returned with two other people. And that is when the shooting began.
Just a few hours later, police got into a shoot-out with the suspects who were in a black SUV. One male, one female suspect were killed. A possible third suspect is now in custody. One of the suspects has been identified as Syed Farook. Police say they were dressed in assault style closed armed with handguns and assault rifles. They threw a fake pipe bomb from the vehicle during that police chase. Listen now to the audio of police as they're talking with dispatchers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, last seen in the alleyway headed towards school. Do we have a clothing description?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Male, dark-skinned is all I have on this frequency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can get that and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In order to have them go there. We need more people here unless it's the SWART team. That's it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your exact location?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're at San Bernardino and Shedden. San Bernardino and Shedden. We can see one guy down, one guy in the back of the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just for the update, we have the suspect vehicle stopped. Please go ahead and extract it. We go stand by, wait for the bearcat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Copy. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now we have one down outside the car. One
down inside the car -- or one we don't know. Hold on. And from what we understand, one is on the run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino serves people with developmental disabilities. The shooting happened inside an adjacent conference center. The campus is about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. San Bernardino's mayor spoke just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR CAREY DAVIS, SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA: This is a shocking event for our community. We certainly are very fortunate that we have such a well-trained police department, or sheriff's department that went into action and they put a massive effort out at trying to alleviate the problem that they were confronted with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And CNN's Poppy Harlow joins me now with the very latest on what is actually happening at this town home, this property which has been linked to these two suspects.
So just walk us back to a few hours earlier. Exactly why did police come to this building? What is the link?
HARLOW: Right.
VAUSE: Between this town home and the suspects?
HARLOW: And it's extraordinary, John, that we're standing here, as one resident described to me, this is a sleeper community.
VAUSE: Yes.
HARLOW: An incredibly tight knit community. A lot of young professionals and families. Yet it is 10 miles away, a 10-minute drive from where this horrific shooting took place. So what happened? Is it authorities? We don't know how but got a tip that led them to that name, Syed Farook. That name was tied to the house that is one- half mile straight down from where we're standing right now. We don't know if he owned it, lived there, rented it, what. They went there.
As the authorities are there, a black SUV is slowly driving by. As soon as whomever is driving that SUV spots the authorities, it speeds away. That results in a police chase. We now know that there was a woman driving and a man shooting out of the SUV. We don't know their identities. They are both dead at this point in time.
Also critical here is the third person. There was a third person we know that has been detained because they were somewhere near here running. Was it an unfortunate circumstance that they were running and they weren't tied this, or were they tied to it and that's why they were running that person is detained, presumably being questioned at this hour. Also in this house, which as you know, you've been here, they've been moving us.
VAUSE: Yes.
HARLOW: Progressively back for safety because they're concerned there could be explosives inside. Yes.
VAUSE: OK. Let's just be clear about a couple of things here. About the identities of who we know.
HARLOW: Sure.
VAUSE: And who we don't know.
HARLOW: We know one identity.
VAUSE: We know one person. Syed Farook.
HARLOW: Syed Farook.
VAUSE: We do not know if he was in the vehicle.
HARLOW: We don't know that. We just know that he worked at the --
VAUSE: The Inland Regional Center. Yes.
HARLOW: Organization that was having the party today.
VAUSE: Right.
HARLOW: And that there was some sort of altercation with him. We don't know if he was in the SUV. Was he the man who was shooting from it? We simply don't know. Was he a third man? We don't know. Is he the third person who was detained? We just don't know that at this point in time. But they are concerned about explosives for some reason. You know they're searching for them in the center and they're searching for them in the house.
VAUSE: At this point, as far as we know, the police have not said there is any tangible evidence of explosive devices inside the building.
[00:20:05] HARLOW: Exactly.
VAUSE: Inside the property.
HARLOW: They are just being extremely careful because --
VAUSE: Because of past experiences?
HARLOW: And because they found a, quote-unquote, "suspicious" package in the center where the shooting was.
VAUSE: Right.
HARLOW: That they are currently using a robot to take apart. Could there be one at the house connected? VAUSE: And we have seen those robots being used here as well.
HARLOW: Yes. We know the ATF has said that they put -- at least one of these robots inside of this town home and have evacuated the immediate neighbors and told the rest of the surrounding neighborhood to shelter in place, to stay home. Will there be a controlled detonation if there is an explosive? That's what we've seen happen before. That's what we saw in the Aurora movie shooting.
VAUSE: Yes.
HARLOW: I was standing outside. There were a series of controlled detonations. Might that happen, there may be no explosives inside. They're not risking it.
VAUSE: It is incredible to think, though, this is a fairly dense residential area. We're talking about a town home.
HARLOW: Absolutely.
VAUSE: Which is surround by other homes. So we know that those people immediately around this townhome have been evacuated. But everybody else is being told to stay inside.
HARLOW: They're being told to stay inside. Which that's the authorities' call, right?
VAUSE: Right. Feel that area is safe should there be --
HARLOW: And again they have not said to us they have any reports of explosive devices.
VAUSE: Right.
HARLOW: But because of what thye found, the suspicious package at the center, and the connection they think between this home, they're obviously being very careful. And they're sending the robot inside to see -- no -- as far as we know, no authorities themselves have gone inside.
VAUSE: Yes.
HARLOW: But we do know they're trying to execute a search warrant.
VAUSE: OK. And we know the search has been ongoing for many, many hours. It will continue on for many, many more hours. By the looks of things.
HARLOW: Yes.
VAUSE: Poppy Harlow, thank you for being with us. We appreciate it.
HARLOW: Absolutely.
VAUSE: We have more now actually just to recap exactly what we know about the suspect. Poppy mentioned Syed Farook. Multiple law enforcement sources have told CNN he is an inspector with the County Health Department. He is won that abruptly left that event at the Inland Regional Center before the shootings happened. The sources say the residents, police are now searching here in Redlands is connected to Farook. He is known to be an American citizen, a U.S. citizen.
But we do not know if he is one of the two suspects, as we were saying, who was killed in that shoot-out earlier today with police. His brother-in-law, though, has spoken. And he held a news conference. He talked to reporters just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FARHAN KHAN, SUSPECT'S BROTHER-IN-LAW: I just cannot express how sad I am for, you know, what happened today. My condolences to, you know, the people who lost their life. I am very sad that, you know, people lost their life. And there's victims of -- I wish speedy recovery to them. And again, I am in shock that something like this could happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Farhan Khan there, the brother-in-law of the suspect, speaking just a short type ago.
Let's go to CNN's Kyung Lah now. She is following developments also here in San Bernardino. She joins us now live.
Kyung, you are following the investigation there at the Inland Regional Center. Also, I understand you have new information about the source of where at least maybe one of these weapons came from.
LAH: We now have information. This is new information that I'm just getting from the ATF. The ATF says that they have successfully traced all four weapons. There were a total of four weapons found at the scene where that SUV was, the two suspects were inside the SUV exchanging gunfire with the officers. Those suspects had two long guns as well as two handguns. The ATF now telling me that they have successfully traced all four firearms that they have discovered that two of the four firearms, two of them, not just one, but two were legally purchased to an individual associated with this investigation.
The agents are continuing to investigate leads concerning the additional two firearms. It's a little unclear what that means. But they seem to have traced all four weapons. There needs to be more investigation of the two that they have not quite been able to determine. But the other two, the ATF says they have discovered that they were indeed legally purchased.
As far as what is happening here, John, this is a big scene. This is a gruesome and difficult scene for all the officers involved inside this auditorium. There were 14 people who were gunned down. 14 people who were here for a holiday party. 17 people were wounded. They were all taken to the hospital. What we have seen here throughout the night is the number of officers heavily armed. They have been using bearcats, armored vehicles, going through this building, trying to clear it. But also dealing with an incendiary device. They believe that there was a bomb inside. We haven't gotten final
determination of what exactly they found. But we did hear some two loud booms go off. I'm about a block away from the shooting scene. And that device they believe they have neutralized. We're still waiting to hear exactly what kind of device was found. Very concerning for law enforcement. It really set the tone for every scene that they approached, including the scene that Poppy is at in Redlands, as well as approaching the vehicle that they engaged in gunfire, John.
[00:25:04] So this scene here, it's going to be a long night. They're going to spend a long time here trying to process this, trying to collect all the gun casings, trying to put a timeline together and try to pick up all the pieces here -- John.
VAUSE: Kyung, there are hundreds of people inside this center at the time of the shooting. Where are they right now? Are they still there?
LAH: We have seen them leave here by buses. There was a very long time where they were moved to an area over to my right, just behind, beyond this fence, this roadway that you see. There is a big golf course. And throughout the day, they were moved as they were slowly cleared out of the IRC into this golf course, and then they were one by one interviewed by law enforcement.
They were loaded on to school buses, city buses, and then they were sent to two different areas where they were reunited with family. So a lot of them, if they were not injured, they were allowed to go home. Many, many of them shaken. We spoke to many other spouses here who were shaking and crying as they were receiving texts from their loved ones.
VAUSE: And Kyung, do we know more about how what people did when the shooting actually started? How people tried to protect themselves? What actions people inside those buildings took?
LAH: It is a very sad reality about America that people now know what to do when there is a gunman in their place of work. This is a business, I'm told by many other spouses, that they drilled for this. They practiced what would happen if a gunman were to enter their buildings. There were 550 people inside this building working. That does not include the people who were inside that auditorium having their holiday party. That auditorium was rented out for that holiday party.
The employees for the IRC had drilled for this. They knew when they heard gunmen, they pushed desk against their doorways. They knew to turn off the lights. They knew to silence their cell phones because America sees this so often, people now know what to do.
VAUSE: OK, Kyung, thank you. Kyung Lah on the scene there with the very latest from the IRC, the Inland Regional Center.
Kyung, we'll be back to you in the coming hours. Thank you very much. And just to repeat that news, that -- the latest information which
Kyung had which is that these weapons have now been identified. Two of the firearms were in fact legally purchased. We will continue to follow this breaking news of this mass shooting here in California. We are on the scene as police try and trace the steps of the suspects.
SESAY: Yes, and worth pointing out for our viewers, worth pointing out for our viewers that today's events happening just an hour away from us right here in Los Angeles. In just a few moment, I'll be joined here in the studio by former long serving FBI agent who will give his analysis on this latest shooting tragedy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON HUNT, EMPLOYEE, INLAND REGIONAL CENTER: These people are -- give their heart and soul to this agency just to help other people and the audacity of people to come out here and just want to shoot it up is -- it's insane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: It is just after 9:30 p.m. here on the West Coast of the United States. You're watching CNN's live breaking news coverage of a deadly shooting, right here in California. We're going to be live throughout the night for you here on CNN. This tragedy played out in a conference center at a facility for people with developmental disabilities. I'm Isha Sesay in Los Angeles.
VAUSE: And I'm John Vause live in Redlands, California. Authorities have identified one of the suspects in the San Bernardino shootings as Syed Farook, an inspector with the County Health Department. They say Farook abruptly left a holiday party at the center before the shooting. Authorities have not said whether he is one of three people who later returned and opened fire.
At least 14 people were killed. 17 others wounded; many of them in critical condition right now. Hours later, two of the suspects were killed during a shoot-out with police, one man and one woman. There is no word on whether Syed Farook is one of the dead. Authorities say they've also detained a possible third suspect.
CNN's Randi Kaye has details now on how the shooting and the police chase unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SIREN)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "Active shooter", that was the warning just before lunch time in San Bernardino, California, about an hour east of Los Angeles. People inside and outside the building targeted heard the shots. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was walking out and pop, pop, pop.
KAYE: It all happened at a conference facility where a banquet for county officials was taking part. That facility is part of a large building complex that also houses the Inland Regional Center, which provides services to people with disabilities. Within minutes, the San Bernardino Police alert they're looking for not one, but possibly as many as three shooters.
SGT. VICKI CERVANTES, POLICE OFFICER, SAN BERNARDINO PD: Multiple people entered the room and began shooting.
KAYE: The shooters are believed to be dressed in body armor and heavily armed. Police say they came prepared for this attack. Police, S.W.A.T. teams, the ATF and FBI raced to the scene and set up a perimeter. They believe the shooters were still somewhere inside the large complex. Loved ones of those trapped inside also arrived. This man's daughter texted him she was hiding.
TERRY PETTIT, DAUGHTER IN BUILDING: "Shooting at my work. People shot. In the office waiting for cops."
REPORTER: But she is okay?
PETTIT: Pray for us.
KAYE: This man got a text from his wife when the shooting started.
MARCOS AGUILERA, WIFE INSIDE BUILDING: She said the guy shot came in next to her office and, I guess, started shooting. They locked themselves in, in her office. They seen bodies on the floor and she said right now ambulance are taking people out in stretchers.
KAYE: As families wait for answers, California's Governor is briefed; so is the President. Schools and hospitals are locked down. Meanwhile, police continue to try and track down the shooters.
CERVANTES: We don't know where those shooters are. They are heavily armed and they are possibly wearing body armor, things of that nature. It is not a safe area to be. It's very dangerous and the fewer innocent people we have in here, the better.
KAYE: Shortly after it all began, at least a dozen people exit the building; hands up. This man's son was safely evacuated; only after texting his dad that there were live shooters in the building.
[00:35:00]
PAUL LACROIX, SON INSIDE BUILDING: He was pretty nervous, pretty upset, you know, worried. He didn't know for sure what was going on. I told him to just hunker down, make sure their cell phones were off, to keep the noise, don't make noise, and, you know, hide under the desks.
KAYE: By late afternoon, the suspects are on the run. Witnesses describe seeing three men dressed in military-style uniforms, carrying long guns take off in a black SUV. Hours later, a shoot-out with police leaves two suspects dead. More than a dozen victims are also dead, even more wounded and the motive far from clear.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll have more from Redlands in just a moment, but for now, let's head back to Isha in Los Angeles.
SESAY: Thanks, John. Well, reaction to today's event is pouring in. U.S. President, Barack Obama, is once again calling for more gun control reforms after this latest mass shooting. Speaking to "CBS News", he said Congress should work together to close loopholes, including one that lets people buy a gun even if they're deemed too dangerous to fly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently: commonsense gun safety laws; stronger background checks; and, you know, for those who are concerned about terrorism, you know, some may be aware of the fact that we have a no fly list where people can't get on planes, but those same people who we don't allow to fly could go into a store right now, in the United States, and buy a firearm and there is nothing that we can do to stop them. That's a law that needs to be changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: President Obama speaking to "CBS News" a little earlier. We want to put today's events in some kind of context for you.
San Bernardino marks the 355th mass shooting in the U.S. this year; that's more mass shootings than days so far in 2015. Mass shootings have occurred every month this year, with 44, you heard me, 44 happening in June alone. A mass shooting is defined as a shooting with at least four people injured or killed, including the shooter. Now these numbers are according to the mass shooting tracker database. The San Bernardino shooting is the deadliest in 2015. Let's take a look at some of the other high profile shootings this year.
Well, just this past Friday a suspect shot and killed three people and wounded nine others at a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado. Two months ago, a gunman attacked Umpqua Community College in Oregon and killed nine people. In August, a Virginia news crew was shot and killed on live television by a former coworker who later killed himself. In July, a Military Recruiting Center in Tennessee was attacked; four Marines and a Sailor were killed. And, in June, nine
people were killed in a shooting during a church prayer meeting in Charleston, South Carolina. San Bernardino marks the 355th mass shooting in the U.S. this year.
John, It's hard to fathom, when you look at the raw data like that, when you look at the numbers, but San Bernardino, where this played out today, tell our viewers a little bit more about this area, about this place.
VAUSE: Yeah, you know, this is a quiet community. It's so typical of where these shootings often take place. Of course, no one here expected anything like this to happen amongst, you know, their community here. And once again, this does re-ignite that whole debate about gun control, about gun laws, were the gun laws here too lax? Should people have been allowed to carry their own firearms for protection? Or where they too lenient which allowed these gunmen to purchase at least two -- or at least two of the guns were purchased legally? So, once again, the debate over the whether the gun laws should be tough enough or they should be relaxed so that people can protect themselves in this kind of situation, and it goes back into this whole situation that we have seen time and time again, after every one of these shootings, that there is this political paralysis that the Congress and the Government here simply doesn't really know how to deal with these kind of mass casualty events, these mass shootings.
Of course, we will continue to follow the breaking news here, Isha. There's been another mass shooting here in California. We continue to report on these mass shootings. A lot more details here from Redlands after a very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, I'm Rosemary Church following other breaking news. Britain has begun its first air strikes in Syria. British lawmakers voted in favor of the expanded strikes on Wednesday after a lengthy debate. After the vote, two British fighter jets took off from a military base in Cypress, though we've yet to confirm whether they're the same warplanes that conducted these new strikes.
And we have some more breaking news: the U.S. Justice Department is announcing new charges against multiple officials in connection with the FIFA corruption scandal. CNN's Evan Perez has the details.
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Hi, Rosemary. Well, we expect that the Justice Department will make these charges public later today. We -- right about now Swiss police are expected to be carrying out raids at hotels in Zurich where there is a meeting ongoing, where there is a meeting that began on Wednesday and continues into Thursday, of FIFA officials. This is exactly the scenario that played out in May, when the Justice Department announced charges against 14 people, 47 counts in an indictment that alleged vast corruption at the World Governing Body of Football. So we expect now that more than a dozen people are going to be charged in this new set of arrests. We had been expecting this would happen because the Justice Department had said that they had received additional new information, they had received additional tips that led them to believe that they could bring additional charges.
Now, it's important to note that among the people being charged is not Sepp Blatter; he's the leader of FIFA who has been the focus of this investigation. The FBI has been working to try to bring charges against him and that still has not come to pass. We expect that these will learn more about the identities of these people who are being charged in the hours to come, but those arrests have now begun. People are being woken up in their hotels in Switzerland at this hour as Swiss police carry out these arrests at the request of U.S. authorities. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes, and Evan, of course the irony of this is that it's -- these people were actually getting together so that they could discuss reform of FIFA, and it's going to be interesting to see what this leaves the organization; who is going to be running it, all of these people arrested. Evan Perez following that story, and, of course, we'll have more details in the hours ahead. Appreciate that.
That's your CNN news now. I'm Rosemary Church. We now return to CNN's breaking news coverage of the shooting in San Bernardino.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN AYERS, WITNESS: I want to get to the center. I was just walking down and this lady, and a couple of others heard shots, and I heard from over there, but then I started walking and all of the sudden I got into the chaos and then who knows? It's just boom, boom, boom, boom and then I'm just, -- wow, I'm right in the middle of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: You are watching CNN's live breaking news coverage of a deadly shooting at a California conference center. I'm Isha Sesay in Los Angeles.
VAUSE: And I'm John Vause live in Redlands, California. Let's look at the exact details of what we know at this moment.
One of the suspects in the San Bernardino shooting has been identified as Syed Farook, an inspector with the County Health Department. Law Enforcement sources say he abruptly left a holiday party at the Inland Regional Center, a facility which cared for people with developmental disabilities. Authorities have not said if Farook was one of three people who later returned and then opened fire. At least 14 people have been killed, 17 others wounded, many in critical condition. Right now authorities are at a home, right here in Redlands, connected to Farook, and there was a chase earlier that began at this house. Police got into a shoot-out with two people who were in an SUV. Those two suspects there were killed, a man and a woman. They were armed with assault rifles, as well as handguns. Sources have not confirmed if Farook was in that SUV or if he is, in fact, one of the suspects killed. Authorities say they have also detained a possible third suspect.
Witnesses have been sharing their stories with us throughout the day, as well as family members. They're anxiously waiting for news about their loved ones. Here is what we've been hearing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETTIT: Shooting at my work, people shot, in the office waiting for cops.
CERVANTES: It is not a safe area to be. It's very dangerous.
[00:45:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were all told to back into our offices and stuff and finally there was this sound. we were able to lock the doors.
LAVINIA JOHNSON, DIRECTOR, INLAND REGIONAL CENTER: There was an active shooter and we needed to stay and get all staff behind locked doors. So we stayed there until the S.W.A.T. teams came in and evacuated us.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I heard rapid shooting, just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
AYERS: I was walking down and this lady and a couple of others heard shots, and I heard from over there, but then I started walking, and all of the sudden I got into chaos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: you can see some people being treated there.
CERVANTES: They are heavily armed and they are possibly wearing body armor, things of that nature.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Large, large armed response here by the Sheriff's Department.
PETTIT: Someone had come in and started shooting and they ran into an office and she is hiding with some other people.
AGUILERA: She said the guy came in next to her office and I guess started shooting. They locked themselves in, in her office. They seen bodies on the floor and she said right now ambulance are taking people out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was shuttled into a room; police showed up; they were taken outside. Thank god there weren't more casualties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Incredible scenes there throughout the day, some incredible stories as well. Let's go back to Isha Sesay, standing by in our studios in Los Angeles with more on our continuing coverage. Isha?
SESAY: Thanks, John. I'm joined by Bobby Ciccone, a former FBI agent who targeted organized crime. He is here with news the studio. Bobby, thank you; thank for joining us. We now have a name of one of the suspects, Syed Farook, an inspector with the County Health Department. Having that information and just looking at everything else on the table that we know at this stage what do you make of all of this?
BOBBY CICCONE, AGENT, FBI: Well, right now, it's looking more and more like it was a workplace dispute between an employee and somebody they worked with.
That would - that's supported by the early facts in the case where the police got very quickly to this area, this area of focus that they went to and when the SUV came by and they engaged the SUV, that probably was a result of somebody that was at the original attack naming this gentleman, saying this guy left the party earlier. He was either escorted out or he was told to leave. It was clearly a dispute between coworkers. This guy returned and the shooting ensued.
SESAY: And I hear what you're saying, but the thing that I think a lot of people are trying to reconcile with that theory, and again, we haven't had anything confirmed at this stage, is the involvement of the female who was in the SUV. Now, of course, again, to say we don't whether Farook was actually in that SUV shoot-out that resulted in the death of two individuals, but a woman was in that SUV. A woman was shot and killed. So how do you reconcile that?
CICCONE: Well, I mean my speculation or my educated guess as an investigator would be that that probably was him in the SUV. This could have been a wife or a girlfriend or somebody that was linked to him that may have shared his disdain for his coworkers that he shared with her every night going back home and complaining about how maybe he wasn't being treated right, and so she might have shared in his hatred of these coworkers and maybe this was something that was thought about, talked about and even planned. Then this incident today was the inciting event that pushed them over the edge to put his plan in place.
SESAY: Have you seen something like that before?
CICCONE: Well, I haven't. I mean, a couple of years ago we had a massive shooting up in the postal facility in Goleta, California, and with some of these workplace violence incidents you do see a very minor level of planning. This one seemed to be a planned more and hence the early on speculation about possible terrorism, the tactical gear that they had. So this all elevates it to another level and I think that that's what the investigators will focus on going forward.
SESAY: The tactical gear, the level of arms, that speaks to training?
CICCONE: It speaks to preparation. Now how much train they had, that's something the investigators will determine; whether they were going to shooting ranges on the weekend and practicing, whether they were doing over types of training, the investigation will determine that.
SESAY: And talk to me about the situation playing out in Redlands, California, where the apartment is that we know authorities are using robotic devices to scan the environment so to speak. Talk to me about the challenges and just how such an operation unfolds.
CICCONE: Well, the first thing that has to be done is the scene has to be made safe, so that is what the robot is doing. It's making it safe for the crime scene people, our evidence response teams and the local crime scene investigators to go in and process the crime scene. So this may be an overabundance of caution, but you have to make sure the scene is safe for the crime scene people to go in and do their jobs. That's what they're probably waiting to do. They're probably waiting to go in and look at his computer, look at any literature that he has laying around, looking at any phone book, contact sheets that he
[00:50:00]
might have of friends, neighbors, coworkers, journals that he might have. So it's going to be many, many hours. They'll be there all night, both processing the original attack scene for forensics and then processing his house for additional evidence, as to his motivation to do this.
SESAY: Bobby, we appreciate the insight. We know you're going to stay with us for the hours ahead -
CICCONE: Sure.
SESAY: -- to continue to help us make sense of all of this, such as we can. Bobby, thank you for that.
CICCONE: You're welcome.
SESAY: We're going to take a very quick break. We're going to have more on the breaking news of a mass shooting here in California right after this.
CHURCH: I'm Rosemary Church at CNN Center. We are following some other breaking news. Britain has begun its first air strikes in Syria. British lawmakers voted in favor of the expanded strikes on Wednesday after a lengthy debate. After the vote, two British fighter jets took off from a military base in Cypress, though we have yet to confirm whether they're the same warplanes that conducted these new strikes.
The U.S. Justice Department is announcing new charges against multiple officials in connection with the FIFA corruption scandal. CNN's Don Riddell joins me now to talk more about this. So these raids are going on right now in actual fact. What do you know about the details on that?
