Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/612741
ByAmandaLeeMyers and Justin Pritchard TheAssociatedPress SANBERNARDINO Thecou- ple who carried out the San Bernardino massacre had been radicalized "for quite some time" and had taken target practice at area gun ranges, in one case within days of the attack that killed 14 people, the FBI said Monday. In a chilling twist, au- thorities disclosed that a year before the rampage, Syed Farook's co-workers at the county health de- partment underwent "ac- tive-shooter" training in the very conference room where he and his wife opened fire on them last Wednesday. It was not immediately clear whether Farook at- tended the autumn 2014 training session on how to react to a workplace gun- man, county spokeswoman Felisa Cardona said. It was held for members of the de- partment's environmental health division, where Fa- rook was a restaurant in- spector. On Monday, one em- ployee who had been in the room when Farook and Tashfeen Malik launched their attack on a holiday luncheon said colleagues tried to do just as they had been trained — find protec- tion and stay quiet. "Unfortunately the room just didn't provide a whole lot of protection," said Cor- win Porter, assistant county health director. Farook, a 28-year-old born in the U.S. to a Pak- istani family, and Malik, a 29-year-old immigrant from Pakistan, were killed in a gunbattle with police hours after the bloodbath. "We have learned and believe that both subjects were radicalized and have been for quite some time," said David Bowdich, chief of the FBI's Los Angeles office. He added: "The ques- tion we're trying to get at is how did that happen and by whom and where did that happen? And I will tell you right now we don't know those answers." He also said the Muslim couple had taken target practice at ranges in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, with one session held within days of the rampage. In addition, authorities found 19 pipes in the cou- ple's home in Redlands, California, that could be turned into bombs, Bowdich said. The FBI pre- viously said it had found 12 pipe bombs. Newly released emer- gency radio transmissions from the fast-moving trag- edy show that police iden- tified Farook as a suspect almost immediately. Wit- nesses said he had left the luncheon about 20 minutes before the shooting began. It was unclear how he was identified so quickly, given that witnesses said the attackers wore black ski masks. Bowdich would not address that question. Twenty-one people were hurt, in addition to the 14 dead. At least six people re- mained hospitalized, two in critical condition. President Barack Obama said in a prime-time ad- dress Sunday night that the attack was an "act of terror- ism designed to kill inno- cent people." He said that the two kill- ers had "gone down the dark path of radicaliza- tion" but that there was no evidence they were part of a larger conspiracy or were directed by an overseas ter- ror organization. The two assault rifles used in the attack had been legally purchased by an old friend of Farook's, Enrique Marquez, authorities said, but they are still trying to determine how the weapons got into the couple's hands. Marquez has not been charged with a crime, and it is unclear if he did any- thing illegal. Meanwhile, most of the county's 20,000 employees went back to work for the first time since the ram- page five days earlier en- gulfed the community in shock and mourning. "To honor them, to ex- press our gratitude for their unimaginable sacrifice, we have to fight to maintain that ordinary," County Su- pervisor Janice Rutherford said of the victims. "We can't be afraid of our lives, of our community, of our neighbors, of our co-work- ers." Authorities said that they have tightened security at county buildings and that counseling centers and a hotline have been set up for employees in distress. Employees in the envi- ronmental health division, where many of the victims worked, will be off until next week. In announcing the return to work, Trudy Raymundo, county health director, re- called that she was about to give a presentation when the killers opened fire. "We held each other and we protected each other through this horrific event," she said, "and we will con- tinue to hold each other and protect each other." At the same news confer- ence were some of the sur- geons who rushed to treat the victims. "What really bothers me most," said Dr. Dev GnanaDev, chief of surgery at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, "is that none of the 14 who perished had a chance." SAN BERNARDINO FBI:Shooterspracticedatgunranges U.S.CUSTOMSANDBORDERPROTECTION This photo shows Tashfeen Malik, le , and Syed Farook, as they passed through O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The FBI said the duo had been radicalized "for quite some time" ahead of the attack, and used local gun ranges for target practice. By Paul Elias The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Authori- ties say a California High- way Patrol helicopter track- ing a suspected stolen ve- hicle almost collided with a drone hovering above Northern California. California Highway Pa- trol spokesman James An- drews said no arrests have been made following Sat- urday night's incident, but the investigation continues and criminal charges could be filed. Andrews said the drone's owner is a foreign exchange student from China in his early 20s living with a fam- ily in Martinez. Andrews said a helicop- ter crew was tracking a sus- pected stolen car when it spotted a small red light coming toward the aircraft. The pilot had to take eva- sive action and veered to the right to avoid crashing with the drone, Andrews said. "Thiscouldhavebeencat- astrophic," Andrews said. The helicopter stopped following the suspected sto- len car and instead tracked the drone to a house in Martinez where local po- lice talked to the drone's owner and his host family, Andrews said. Andrews said the CHP is still compiling its report and hasn't decided whether to forward it to prosecu- tors for possible criminal charges. Andrews says the drone landed in Martinez, where the operator picked it up. The Federal Aviation Ad- ministration said it will in- vestigate the incident as well. The FAA said drones are a growing safety concern and expect more of the pi- lotless aircraft to fill the skies. The Consumer Elec- tronics Association predicts hundreds of thousands of drones will be sold this hol- iday season. The FAA could take a number of steps from warn- ing the operator to admin- istering a fine. "The FAA is very con- cerned with the increasing number of reports we're get- ting from pilots about small drones flying near their air- craft — some of them thou- sands of feet up or in busy arrival and departure corri- dors," FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. The FAA now receives about 100 reports a month from pilots who say they've seen drones flying near planes and airports, com- pared with only a few sight- ings per month last year. So far there have been no ac- cidents, but agency officials have said they're concerned that a drone weighing only a few pounds might cause serious damage if it is sucked into an engine or smashes into an airliner's windshield. Pilot sightings of drones have doubled since last year, including near manned air- planes and at major sport- ing events, and there are re- ports of interference with wildfire-fighting opera- tions, Transportation Sec- retary Anthony Foxx said at a news conference in Wash- ington in October. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that drones in- terfered with firefighting aircraft battling California wildfires this year. MARTINEZ CHP helicopter, drone have close call By Janie Har The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Merced County's district attor- ney has concluded that police were justified in the shooting death of an 18-year-old student who went on a stabbing ram- page at a central Califor- nia university last month, injuring four. District Attorney Larry D. Morse II announced M o n - day that a review showedthat the death of 18-year-old Faisal Mo- h a m m a d on Nov. 4 was warranted given the "imminent threat" he pre- sented to officers. Authorities say that Mo- hammad, a freshman from Santa Clara, California, burst into a classroom at the University of Califor- nia, Merced and slashed fellow students over a dis- pute about a study group. The stabbings shocked the close-knit campus in cen- tral California. "Criminal charges can flow from an incident like this, but in this case, the officer acted appropriately and in accordance with training and well accepted police procedure," he said, adding that the office re- views all officer-involved shootings. The prosecutor's de- scription of Mohammad's final minutes matches tes- timony provided by an- other student who also witnessed the police chase. Two officers were chas- ing Mohammad soon af- ter the stabbings when he suddenly stopped to face them, knife in hand. The officers yelled at him to get on the ground and to put the knife down. He ig- nored the orders. Instead, Mohammad appeared to lunge at one of the officers, Olaf Lopez, with the knife raised at shoulder height. According to the district attorney, Lo- pez shot once, but Moham- mad continued to advance. The officer fired again, and this time Mohammad fell to the ground. He was declared dead at the scene. Previously, Merced CountySheriffVernWarnke saidMohammedleftbehind a two-page "manifesto" ex- plaining that he was angry with being kicked out of a study group and a detailed plan of revenge. Authorities said they found no evidence of men- tal illness or other signs that the man described by family and friends as kind and humble might be vio- lent. They also said back- ground checks found no connections to organized hate or terror groups. 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