Much of the nation held its collective breath while learning about the tragic murders of 14 persons at a Christmas meeting of people from the health department in San Bernadino, with injuries to 17 more persons.
Syed Farook, 28, is the alleged shooter, with the role of his woman sidekick, Tashfeen Malik 27, being unclear at present. It is thought they may have been either married or engaged. Some have mentioned on CNN that Syed and the woman have a six month old child.
Both Syed and Tashfeen are dead, shot [while trying to escape in their black SUV,] by the police who led a massive dragnet, tracked and cornered the SUV [which can be seen with windows shot out/ kttv tv].
Syed who is US born, seems to have worked for the health department at San Bernadino for five years according to the Chief of Police SB, and was an ‘environmental specialist’ there.
He is reported to have been at the holiday party with the other employees, and is said to have had some kind of disagreement, and left the party, coming back with weaponry and firing on the innocents, murdering many, and badly injuring many.
That he came back, as reported, dressed in some kind of combat costume along with woman friend/wife, and reportedly also left an explosive on the site where he attacked point to this not likely being an impulsive act.
It goes without saying that one might think this points to planning in advance. Most public health employees dont keep armour, weaponry and explosives at the ready to lay hands on after leaving a party.
This particular shooting, appears to my mind, to have eerie similarities to a mass shooting that took place also in November of 2009 at Fort Hood. Nidal Hasan, a U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 people to death, and injured 30 others.
As we in our nation today, regarding the slaughter in Colorado Springs last week, there was in Hasan’s case in 2009, debate, discussion, and argument about whether Hasan had staged a terrorist attack.
Several individuals, including Senator Joe Lieberman, General Barry McCaffrey, and others have called that slaughter by Hasan ‘a terrorist attack.’ But, US Department of Defense and federal law enforcement agencies classified the shootings as an act of workplace violence. There has been ongoing discussion and controversy about whether military law can gain a verdict based on more vague law regarding ‘terrorism’ vs more well defined and longstanding premises re murder one [pre-meditated murder].
After Hasan murdered and wounded so many, he himself was shot and is paralyzed from the waist down. He was found guilty on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder on August 23, 2013, and was sentenced to death on August 28, 2013.
“Days after the shooting, reports in the media revealed that a Joint Terrorism Task Force had been aware of a series of e-mails between Hasan and the Yemen-based imam Anwar al-Awlaki, who had been monitored by the NSA as a security threat, and that Hasan’s colleagues had been aware of his increasing radicalization for several years. The failure to prevent the shootings led the Defense Department and the FBI to commission investigations, and Congress to hold hearings.”
With regard to Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, their emails and communications will no doubt yield more information soon.
Meanwhile, at San Bernadino earlier today, 20+ police faced off with Syed and Tashfeen who are said to have had assault rifles, handguns and much ammo in their possession in the SUV. During the gunshot exchange, one officer was wounded and is currently at hospital.
The police Captain said that they believe there were only two shooters, although it is reported that a third person is contained and being questioned.