Police still searching for motive in mass killing

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities are trying to determine a motive for Wednesday’s deadly shootings in San Bernardino, California, which could include workplace violence or terrorism.

Police say a heavily armed man and woman dressed for battle opened fire at a social services center for the disabled during a holiday banquet for his co-workers. They killed 14 people and seriously wounding more than a dozen others in a precision assault. Hours later, they died in a shootout with officers.

Police and federal agents are for a second day searching a home in connection to the massacre. A search team combed the residence early Thursday in neighboring Redlands, about 7 miles from the shooting at Inland Regional Center. A black sedan parked outside was also searched.

The home is where officers initially saw a vehicle matching the description of the suspects’ SUV in the hours before the final gun battle that killed them. A bomb squad on Wednesday swept the building with robots.

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan identified one dead suspect as 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook, the other as Tashfeen Malik, 27, his wife or fiancee.

The US-born Farook was a restaurant inspector for the health department. The couple had reportedly dropped off their 6-month-old daughter with relatives Wednesday morning, saying they had a doctor’s appointment. The husband of Farook’s sister told reporters he last spoke to his brother-in-law about a week ago. He said he was in shock, condemned the violence, and had “absolutely no idea why he would do this.”

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