A heavily
armed man and woman in their 20s died in a shootout with police after killing
14 people at a Christmas party in California
in the worst mass shooting in the US
Police
identified the pair as Syed Farook, a 28-year-old US
The shooters
targeted a year-end party taking place at a social services center in San Bernardino , about an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles
“We don’t
have the motive at this point,” Burguan said. “We have not ruled out
terrorism.”
The massacre
drew an angry response from US President Barack Obama, who once again urged the
US Congress to pass tougher gun control measures to stem the nation’s epidemic
of gun violence.
Burguan said
Farook was an environmental inspector who had worked for the county health
department for five years.
He and Malik
were dressed in military-style gear and carried assault weapons as they burst
into the auditorium where the bloodbath took place.
The hall was
let out for the holiday party by the Inland
Regional Center
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,” Burguan 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,” he said.
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.
There was no
information on the identity of the victims.
FBI agents in
the early evening raided an apartment in the nearby town of Redlands ,
where the two suspects were seen before the police chase that ended in a
shootout a few kilometers from the Inland
Center
The California
Farook’s
brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, said he had no idea what prompted the carnage.
“I am in
shock that something like this could happen,” a visibly shaken Khan told a
press conference organized by the council.
The Los
Angeles Times quoted some of Farook’s coworkers as saying he had previously
traveled to Saudi Arabia
The couple
had a six-month-old daughter and appeared to be “living the American dream,”
Patrick Baccari, a fellow inspector who shared a cubicle with Farook, told the
newspaper.
It was the
nation’s deadliest shooting incident since Dec. 14, 2012, when a young man
killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown , Connecticut
Structure of Lead:
WHO- Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik
WHERE- in California
WHEN-not mentioned
WHY-not mentioned
HOW- by shooting
KEYWORDS:
1. at large 未被逮捕
2. massacre 屠殺
3. tactical 戰術
4. denounce 譴責
5. carnage 大屠殺
6. ruled out 排除
