One of the suspects in the San Bernardino shootings, Syed Farook, may have been motivated to carry out the attacks as a result of watching the Islamic State’s propaganda videos, according to a Thursday night press conference by law enforcement.
Officials speculated Farook may have been radicalized by his wife Tashfeen Malik, who entered the U.S. from Saudi Arabia last year.
Investigators pointed to 1,600 rounds of ammunition found in the couple’s rented SUV following a shootout between police and the suspects, as well as 3,000 more rounds of ammunition and 12 pipe bombs in their condo as indication that the pair had bigger plans.
Three remote control-operated pipe bombs were also left behind at the scene of the shooting, but were either not used or failed to detonate.
First responders said they did not find a manifesto at the office or at the residence they later searched, but called the incident “anything but spontaneous.”
“I think that based upon what we have seen and based upon how they were equipped, there had to have been some degree of planning that went into this. There was obviously a mission here, we know that,” David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said during the news conference.
Officials are still investigating whether the office attack was the first of multiple ones the couple had planned and whether the large amount of military guns, equipment and assault gear can be connected to a terrorist cell in the region.
Reports now indicate 14 people were killed in the attacks at the Department of Public Health’s Christmas party, 12 of which were county employees.
Another 21 people were injured, 18 of whom were also employees in the office. Police said approximately 71 to 80 people were in attendance and the outcome of the event could have been worse.
