Multiple fatalities, injuries reported in mass shooting in San Bernardino, California

By Fusion Staff  |  December 3, 2015 | 2:15am
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Authorities locked down a section of San Bernardino on Wednesday in response to reports of a shooting in the Southern California city. San Bernardino law enforcement authorities reported as many as three active shooters and multiple victims.

During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said 14 people had died and 14 people had been wounded during the attacks, according to preliminary numbers.

The AP reported that San Bernardino police engaged in a shootout with a black SUV, and two suspects, one man and one woman, were dead. One officer was injured and taken to the hospital, but the injuries were not life-threatening. A third person was detained running from the scene of the gunfight, but it was unclear if their arrest was related.

Authorities told ABC News that the suspects were heavily armed and possibly wearing body armor. A law enforcement source told The AP that it was possible a workplace dispute was the motivation behind the attacks.

“They came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission,” Burguan said.

A representative from the FBI said they did not know yet if it was a terrorist incident.

The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information on the shooting to contact authorities. Authorities also requested that local residents stay away from the crime scene.

According to The Associated Press, the shooting took place at the conference area of Inland Regional Center, a social services center that assists adults with developmental disabilities. The CEO of the center told The AP its conference facility was rented by an outside group for the day, but that she did not know specifically who.

A man named Terry Petit told The AP his daughter works at the Center and that he received a text from her saying she was hiding in the office following the shooting.

“People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office,” the text read, according to The AP.

The incident follows a mass shooting incident at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs last Friday. Three were killed and the gunman, Robert Allan Dear, is under police custody.”  According to the Washington Post, there have been more than 354 mass shootings in 2015 so far

President Barack Obama expressed frustration with the shootings in comments made to CBS News.

“We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world,” Obama told CBS News. “There are steps we can take to make Americans safer…to make these rare as opposed to normal.”

This story will be updated as more information comes available.

Michael Rosen is a reporter for Fusion based out of Oakland.

Patrick Hogan is a reporter for Fusion based out of New York. E-mail at [email protected].

 
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