San Bernardino Shooting: At Least 14 People Killed; Two Suspects Killed
UPDATE 7:39 PM:
FBI said two suspects have been killed. The FBI said they will not rule out terrorism at this time.
There is a third suspect that police are looking into. The third suspect ran from the scene and is being detained.
ORIGINAL POST:
San Bernardino, California (CNN) Hundreds of police officers swarmed a six-block area of San Bernardino in pursuit of as many as three suspects who authorities say gunned down 14 people at a center for people with developmental disabilities.
Witnesses said the gunmen fled the scene of the shooting at the Inland Regional Center in a black SUV. Hours later, aerial images from CNN affiliates showed two armored trucks approaching a black SUV riddled with bullet holes. A person could be seen on the ground not moving, with a long gun by his side.
Law enforcement officials told CNN that two suspects were in the SUV armed with AR-15-type weapons and threw what are believed to be pipe bombs out the windows as police closed in.
'Pray for us' says a text from California shooting scene
At least one suspect was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police, a law enforcement official said. A police officer was also hurt, but the injury is not life-threatening, police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes said.
A third suspect could still be on the loose, officials said.
The residential area not far from where the shooting at the Inland Regional Center occurred was flooded with law enforcement. A CNN producer saw police going house to house and residents were told to stay inside with their doors locked.
Meanwhile, authorities finished clearing the three buildings on the property and examining the conference center, where the initial shootings occurred.
[Latest developments, posted at 7:08 PM]
• Authorities have had contact with as many as two suspects from Wednesday's shooting, told reporters. At least one suspect was hit in a shootout. It's unclear whether that suspect was killed, she said. A third suspect could still be on the loose, she said. Cervantes also said that a police officer was hurt but the injury is not life-threatening.
• CNN affiliate KABC showed images of the other shooting scene. The video showed a black SUV and a person on the ground.
• Marcos Aguilera received a text from his wife who works at the Inland Regional Center.
"She heard the shots and crying," he said. The situation became confusing when the fire alarm went off. "Everyone was confused," he said, relating his wife's account. A SWAT team eventually rescued his wife and two other co-workers. "When she exited the building, she said there were multiple bodies on the floor," Aguilera told CNN.
• The suspects were armed with long guns, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters. "These were people that came prepared. ... They were armed with long guns, not hand guns," he told reporters. Most of the victims were "centrally located in one area of the facility," Burguan said. Police didn't exchange gunfire with the shooters, he added.
UPDATE 6:03 PM:
One officer was injured during the police pursuit according to police at a press conference. Two suspects are being dealt with according to police.
UPDATE 5:18 PM:
CNN is reporting police pursued a vehicle in connection with the shootings. All windows were shot out.
Police confirmed shots fired.
A body was laying on the ground after the vehicle stopped.
A number of police officers are surrounding the vehicle.
UPDATE 4:36 PM:
San Bernardino, California (CNN)The hunt for one to three suspects was taking place near a San Bernardino, California, center for people with developmental disabilities, where at least 14 people were killed Wednesday, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters.
Fourteen other people were wounded in the shooting, Burguan said.
SWAT teams and the bomb squad were working to clear the buildings where the shootings took place.
'Pray for us' says a text from California shooting scene
• The suspects were armed with long guns, Burguan told reporters. "These were people that came prepared. ... They were armed with long guns, not hand guns," he told reporters. Most of the victims were "centrally located in one area of the facility," Burguan said. Police didn't exchange gunfire with the shooters, he added.
• "At this point, I know one of your questions is going to be 'Is this a terrorist incident?' I will tell you right now we do not know if this is a terrorist incident," David Bowdich, an assistant director for Los Angeles FBI's office told reporters.
• The shootings were in the conference center at the Inland Regional Center, the center's executive director, Lavinia Johnson, told CNN. She believes the county's Department of Public Health was having a holiday party there. Johnson said the fire alarm went off in her building, and people began to evacuate but then the order came to stay in place. Later police came and took people out of their offices.
UPDATE 3:43 PM:
• "There are multiple casualties and confirmed fatalities," San Bernardino Police spokeswoman Sgt. Vicki Cervantes told reporters.
• Four adults have been transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, and the hospital is expecting three more patients, hospital spokeswoman Briana Pastorino said. She did not describe the nature of the patients' wounds. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center has received eight patients, an employee who didn't want to be named told CNN.
• The three suspects are believed to be armed with AK-47-type weapons, a local law enforcement official told CNN.
• Witnesses told police they saw three men with long guns, a law enforcement source told CNN. The source said the suspects got into a black SUV and drove away.
UPDATE: 2:43 PM:
Witnesses told police they saw three men with long rifles, a law enforcement source told CNN. The source said the suspects got into a black SUV and drove away.
The bomb squad found a suspicious package on the second floor of a building and determined it is "not normal," the source said. They are going to handle it with a robot, the source added.
• There are multiple buildings in the complex, CNN affiliate KTLA reported. SWAT teams are moving methodically through to clear them.
• The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding, agency representatives said.
• Wednesday's San Bernardino, California, shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities. It is unclear how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting. The center's Facebook page says it employs nearly 670 staff members at its facilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, providing service to more than 30,200 people.
It aims to "work on a personal, one-on-one basis with people with developmental disabilities to make their lives better as they define it." No information is yet available on how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
UPDATE 2:08 pm:
• A woman who works at a building where the shootings occurred texted her father, Terry Pettit: "Shooting at my work. People shot." Pettit told CNN affiliate KABC his daughter, who was locked in her office, told him 10 to 20 people were shot.
• CNN affiliate KABC reported that the shooting took place at Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities.
Inland Regional Center's Facebook page says it employs nearly 670 staff at its facilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, providing services to more than 30,200 people.
It aims to "work on a personal, one-on-one basis with people with developmental disabilities to make their lives better as they define it."
No information is yet available on how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
UPDATE:
CNN affiliate KABC reported that the shooting took place at Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities.
Inland Regional Center's Facebook page says it employs nearly 670 staff at its facilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, providing services to more than 30,200 people.
It aims to "work on a personal, one-on-one basis with people with developmental disabilities to make their lives better as they define it."
It is unclear how many people were at the San Bernardino facility at the time of the shooting.
ORIGINAL POST:
(CNN)The San Bernardino Fire Department is responding to reports of a "20 victim shooting incident," the department said on Twitter.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department tweeted that there was an "active shooter in the area of Orange Show Rd/Waterman Ave near Park center." It urged people to avoid the area.
