At least 14 people were killed in a gun attack on a holiday party in San Bernardino, California on Wednesday, the country's worst mass shooting since the massacre of 26 people at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut three years ago.
- 14 dead, 17 wounded -
Fourteen people were killed and 17 wounded - two critically - when shooters opened fire inside the Inland Regional Center late morning, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
The attack took place inside a packed conference room rented out for a Christmas holiday event by the center, which provides services for people with developmental disabilities.
No details have been released so far on the victims, in particular whether any of the Inland facility's staff were among those killed.
Police said they had no knowledge of any children being involved.
- Three suspects: two men, one woman -
A man and a woman suspected of carrying out the attack were killed in a dramatic shootout with police in the hours that followed, police said, as a huge manhunt closed in on their bullet-riddled vehicle.
A third person was detained while fleeing the scene of the shootout, which took place in a street a few miles from the Inland Center.
US media reported that one of the suspects has been identified as a man named Syed Farook.
Public records show that a man bearing the same name worked as an environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County, where the shooting took place.
NBC News said the second male suspect was believed to be Farook's brother. The identity of the woman was unknown.
- Heavily armed -
San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters the slain suspects were armed with assault rifles and handguns.
Investigators were also looking at the possibility they had left an explosive device at the scene of the shooting.
- Link to terrorism? -
Authorities said it was too soon to say whether the shooting was in some way linked to terrorism.
"Obviously at minimum we have a domestic terrorist type situation that occurred here," Burguan told reporters.
David Bowdich, the FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, told reporters: "I know one of the big questions that will come up repeatedly is, 'Is this terrorism?'.
"And I am still not willing to say that we know that for sure."
- Motive unknown -
"We don't know what the motive is at this point," police chief Burguan said. "The information we have is that they came prepared to do what they did as if they were on a mission.
"They came in with a purpose. They came in with the intent to do something."
Authorities said they were looking at reports the attack might be linked to a disgruntled employee.
Burguan said he was informed that someone left the event following a dispute prior to the shooting.
"Somebody did leave, but we have no idea if that is the person that came back."
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