Summary No details have been released so far on the victims
SAN BERNARDINO, United States (AFP) - At least 14 people were killed in a gun attack on a holiday party in San Bernardino, California on Wednesday, the country s worst mass shooting since the massacre of 26 people at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut in 2012.
Here is a summary of the latest developments:
- 14 dead, 17 wounded -
Fourteen people were killed and 17 wounded, two critically, when two assailants opened fire inside the Inland Regional Center late morning, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff s Department.
The attack took place inside a packed conference room rented out for a Christmas holiday event by the center, which provides services for people with disabilities.
No details have been released so far on the victims, in particular whether any of the Inland facility s staff were among those killed.
Police said they had no knowledge of any children being involved.
- Two suspected attackers -
A man and a woman suspected of carrying out the attack were killed in a shootout with police in the hours that followed, police said. Police staging a huge manhunt closed in on their SUV and a gunfight ensued.
They were later identified as Syed Farook, a 28-year-old US citizen who worked for the local county in environmental matters, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, whose nationality was unknown.
A third person was detained while fleeing the scene of the shootout. San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan said it was not immediately clear if this third person was somehow involved in the attack.
- Heavily armed -
Burguan told reporters the slain suspects were armed with assault rifles and handguns.
He said the attackers left explosive devices behind and authorities were only able to access the scene of the crime several hours after the shooting.
- Link to terrorism? -
Authorities said it was too soon to say whether the shooting was in some way linked to terrorism but did not rule it out.
"Obviously at minimum we have a domestic terrorist type situation that occurred here," Burguan told reporters.
David Bowdich, the FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, told reporters: "I know one of the big questions that will come up repeatedly is, Is this terrorism? .
"And I am still not willing to say that we know that for sure."
- Motive unknown -
"We don t have the motive at this point," police chief Burguan said. "We have not ruled out terrorism."
Burguan said Farook had attended the Christmas party organized by the health department and left after an apparent dispute, only to return a short time later with Malik, armed with assault rifles and semiautomatic handguns.
"Based upon how they were equipped, there had to be some degree of planning that went into this," he said. "I don t think they just ran home and put on these tactical clothes, grabbed guns and came back on a spur of the moment thing."
