On Thursday afternoon, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said at a press conference on the attack carried out by Sayed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik that a dozen pipe bombs were discovered in the garage of their Redlands home, on top of the bomb recovered at the scene. Tools for constructing more bombs were also recovered.
This would seem to provide the latest confirmation that Farook and Malik planned their attack carefully, rather than committing a sudden and random act of “workplace violence.” However, the police still discussed the scenario in which Farook departed the holiday party he would later attack under “angry circumstances,” and the FBI said it was not yet prepared to formally designate the incident a terrorist attack.
USA Today also notes that the fleeing couple apparently threw bombs of some sort at the police during their high-speed pursuit, but these devices were “found to be inert.” The bomb they deployed at the scene of the attack also failed to detonate.
The couple was also said to be in possession of thousands of rounds of ammunition, with hundreds of rounds stashed in their vehicle.
“They were equipped and could have committed another shooting, but we intercepted them before that,” said San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan. He said Sayeed Farook, who had no criminal record, legally purchased the handguns involved in the attack, but the rifles were provided by an as-yet unidentified third party.