FBI: California Shooting Was a Terrorist Act

The FBI announced on Friday, December 4, that it considers the shooting in California last Wednesday, which left 14 dead, to be a 'terrorist act.' Syed Rizwan Farook, an inspector responsible for restaurant inspections at the San Bernardino Health Department, and his wife Tashfeen Malik attacked a holiday party attended by Farook's colleagues. Reports indicate that the couple fired 75 rounds at the attendees. In this attack, 14 people were killed and 21 were injured. An Iranian woman was among the victims of the shooting. According to Reuters, David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI in California, stated on Friday, 'Based on the information and evidence we have, we are now investigating this horrific act as a terrorist act.' This FBI official confirmed that Tashfeen Malik had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on social media. According to CNN, moments after the attack on Wednesday, Tashfeen Malik announced her allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) in a Facebook message, which was deleted shortly thereafter. The FBI stated that Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik destroyed their phones during the police confrontation. Efforts are now focused on recovering the memory from the couple's phones and computers. CNN also reported that the police are further investigating Tashfeen Malik's background. According to this report, Tashfeen Malik lived in Saudi Arabia until she returned to Pakistan nearly five years ago. She met Rizwan Farook online in 2014 and entered the U.S. on a fiancé visa. CNN reported that Tashfeen Malik wore a veil, and few people in the U.S. had seen her face. She did not drive in the U.S. A security expert told CNN that Tashfeen Malik may have encouraged and incited Rizwan Farook to carry out the attack. Meanwhile, California police officials say there is no evidence that the couple was part of a terrorist network.