The following is a timeline of events that occurred in San Bernardino, California where a mass shooting took place Wednesday, December 2, that killed 14 people. All times are PST:
December 2
Morning – The two suspects, who will later be identified as Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, leave their 6-month-old daughter with her grandmother, saying they needed to go to a doctor’s appointment.
11:00 am – Police receive 911 calls saying shots have been fired inside the Inland Regional Center. Employees of the San Bernardino Health Department were having a Christmas party at the site.
11:04 am – San Bernardino Police arrive at the scene four minutes after the 911 call came in. The LA Times published video shot from inside the Regional Center as police entered the building with guns drawn. The woman who filmed this clip assumed it was a drill:
11:14 am – The San Bernardino Fire Department tweets that they are responding to the scene of a “20 victim shooting incident” and notes the PD are already clearing the scene:
KPCC radio published a clip taken from inside the building of San Bernardino police leading people out:
12:25 pm – President Obama is briefed on the situation.
1:05 pm – San Bernardino police confirm multiple casualties and some fatalities but can’t specify numbers.
1:28 pm – Police ask residents of the city to please stay clear of the area:
1:55 pm – In an interview with CBS, President Obama says, “Obviously our hearts go out to the victims and the families. The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world. And there are some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds.”
2:00 pm – San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan announces 14 fatalities and 14 injured in the attack.
3:20 pm – Based on a tip, police head to a house in Redlands. They identify a black SUV they had been searching for, and a high speed pursuit ensued heading back into the city of San Bernardino. More than 20 police officers were involved in a gun battle with suspects. One suspect, the male, got out of the car and was shot dead. The other suspect, a woman, was shot inside the vehicle. Each suspect had a rifle and a handgun. Police later reveal the SUV driven in the chase had been rented by the suspects three or four days earlier.
5:30 pm – Police search a home in Redlands believe to be connected to the shooters.
6:30 pm – Police report a possible explosive device was found at the Inland Regional Center.
6:45 pm – One of the suspects is named in media reports as Syed Farook.
10:00 pm – At a press conference, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan names the 2nd suspect. She is Tashfeen Malik, the 27-year-old wife of Syed Farook. Police confirm she was also killed in the SUV shootout earlier in the day. Chief Burguan refuses to speculate on a motive but says he has not ruled out terrorism. The Chief also confirms that explosive devices were found at the scene and were handled by the bomb squad. The Chief says it’s obvious the attack was not a “spur of the moment kind of thing.”
December 3
7:45 am – Authorities reveal Tashfeen Malik was Pakistani and here on a K-1 (fiancée) Visa.
8:15 am – President Obama makes a statement on the shooting, saying it was possible the attack was terrorist-related, but also saying it could be “workplace related.”