FBI: Massacre Investigated as 'Act of Terrorism'
Friday, 04 Dec 2015 02:44 PM
The FBI said Friday that it is now investigating the San Bernardino attacks as "an act of terrorism."
"I do want to go forward today and tell you that as of today based on the information and the facts as we know them, we are now investigating these horrific acts as an act of terrorism," David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office, said at an afternoon press conference.
"We have uncovered evidence that has led us to learn of extensive planning.
"We have uncovered evidence of explosives, armaments — you know the ammunition that was out there: the high-powered weapons, the explosive devices. "We are continuing to go down the path to ensure that we find all of the evidence that pertains to this matter," Bowdich said.
Bowdich said that the FBI has uncovered evidence that the suspects "attempted to destroy their digital fingerprints.
"We found cell phones in a nearby trash can. The cell phones were actually crushed. "We have retained those cell phones, and we do continue to exploit the data," Bowdich added. "We do hope that the digital fingerprints left by these two individuals will take us towards their motivation. That evidence is incredibly important.
"I want to ensure that everyone understands that just because the FBI has taken the leadership based on the trajectory of this case, we're not just taking this on our own," he said.
Earlier in the day, intelligence officials had said the wife of the male gunman had pledged allegiance to a leader of the Islamic State militant group and that the U.S. is pressing the investigation overseas with Pakistan.
One CNN source said she posted the pledge while while the attack was ongoing, though the timing is unclear. The investigation has been focused on the motivation for the attack with officials including President Barack Obama and San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan saying it may have been motivated by extremist ideology.
Police said the couple had two assault-style rifles, two semi-automatic handguns and 1,600 rounds of ammunition in their vehicle, with 12 pipe bombs found in their home.
Authorities have not dismiss other issues — including that Farook had a workplace grievance — as additional motives.
Wearing body armor and black tactical gear with GoPro cameras, Farook and Malik shot up a holiday party hosted by Farook's employer, the county health department.
Authorities said each attacker carried an AR-15 rifle and a pistol, and their vests were stuffed with ammunition magazines. One of the weapons was capable of piercing body armor.
All of the guns were later determined to have been legally purchased, though not by the attackers. The assault rifles were bought by a third person who is not considered a suspect, according to a senior law enforcement official, The New York Times reports.
They fled in a black SUV and hours later died in a gunbattle with police less than two miles away.
"They came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission," San Bernardino Police Chief Burguan said.
"I do want to go forward today and tell you that as of today based on the information and the facts as we know them, we are now investigating these horrific acts as an act of terrorism," David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office, said at an afternoon press conference.
"We have uncovered evidence that has led us to learn of extensive planning.
"We have uncovered evidence of explosives, armaments — you know the ammunition that was out there: the high-powered weapons, the explosive devices. "We are continuing to go down the path to ensure that we find all of the evidence that pertains to this matter," Bowdich said.
Bowdich said that the FBI has uncovered evidence that the suspects "attempted to destroy their digital fingerprints.
"We found cell phones in a nearby trash can. The cell phones were actually crushed. "We have retained those cell phones, and we do continue to exploit the data," Bowdich added. "We do hope that the digital fingerprints left by these two individuals will take us towards their motivation. That evidence is incredibly important.
Earlier in the day, intelligence officials had said the wife of the male gunman had pledged allegiance to a leader of the Islamic State militant group and that the U.S. is pressing the investigation overseas with Pakistan.
Tashfeen Malik, 27, and her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, were killed in a shootout with police hours after the Wednesday massacre at the Inland Regional Center social services agency in San Bernardino, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles. The attack was the deadliest mass shooting the United States has experienced in three years.
U.S. investigators are evaluating evidence that Malik, a Pakistani native who had been living in Saudi Arabia when she married Farook, had pledged allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, two U.S. officials told Reuters. They said the finding, if confirmed, could be a "game changer" in the investigation.
Pakistani intelligence officials have contacted Malik's family in her homeland as part of the investigation, a family member said.
"I only found out about this tragedy today when some intelligence officials contacted me to ask me about my links with Tashfeen," Malik's uncle, Javed Rabbani, said in an interview. "I had heard in the news that this tragedy had taken place but I could never even imagine that it would be someone from my family. Of course, we are in shock."
He said his brother, Malik's father, had become considerably more conservative since moving with his family to Saudi Arabia a quarter century ago.
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Tashfeen Malik had moved back to Pakistan five or six years ago to study pharmacy, Pakistani officials said.
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Before going on their rampage on Wednesday, Malik and Farook had destroyed computer hard drives and other electronics, a U.S. government source said.
Investigators are looking into a report that Farook had engaged in an argument with a co-worker who denounced the "inherent dangers of Islam," a U.S. government source said.
CNN reported on Friday that one U.S. official said Malik had pledged allegiance to al-Baghdadi in a posting on Facebook made on Wednesday, the day of the attack, under an account that used a different name.One CNN source said she posted the pledge while while the attack was ongoing, though the timing is unclear. The investigation has been focused on the motivation for the attack with officials including President Barack Obama and San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan saying it may have been motivated by extremist ideology.
The couple left behind a 6-month old daughter. Farook's brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, told NBC News he had begun legal proceedings to adopt the girl and was "very upset and angry" at Farook.
"You left your 6-month-old daughter," Khan said. "In this life some people cannot have kids. God gave you a gift of a daughter. And you left that kid behind ... What did you achieve?"
Twenty-one people were wounded in the attack, the worst gun violence in the nation since the December 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Farook, a U.S. citizen born in Illinois, was the son of Pakistani immigrants, said Hussam Ayloush, head of the Los Angeles area chapter of the Muslim advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Christian Nwadike, who worked with Farook for five years, told CBS that his co-worker had been different since he returned from Saudi Arabia.
"I think he married a terrorist," Nwadike said.
Investigators are reviewing the couples' computers and cellphones to see if they had browsed jihadist websites or had contact with militant groups, according to officials in Washington familiar with the investigation.
Authorities have not dismiss other issues — including that Farook had a workplace grievance — as additional motives.
Wearing body armor and black tactical gear with GoPro cameras, Farook and Malik shot up a holiday party hosted by Farook's employer, the county health department.
Authorities said each attacker carried an AR-15 rifle and a pistol, and their vests were stuffed with ammunition magazines. One of the weapons was capable of piercing body armor.
All of the guns were later determined to have been legally purchased, though not by the attackers. The assault rifles were bought by a third person who is not considered a suspect, according to a senior law enforcement official, The New York Times reports.
They fled in a black SUV and hours later died in a gunbattle with police less than two miles away.
"They came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission," San Bernardino Police Chief Burguan said.
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