San Bernardino Shooter Pledged Allegiance to ISIS Leader?; FBI Investigates San Bernardino Attack as Act of Terrorism
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Described as quiet and soft spoken, the wife and mother is now at the center of a massive FBI terrorism investigation for gunning down 14 people with her husband in a commando-style assault.</s>JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: We are spending a tremendous amount of time, as you might imagine, over the last 48 hours, trying to understand the motives of these killers and trying to understand every detail of their lives.</s>WHITFIELD: Plus, ISIS responding to the attack today calling the shooters supporters of its terrorist operation.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't understand. How can a woman just deliver her baby like this and Google some crap like this?</s>WHITFIELD: NEWSROOM starts now. Hello, again, everyone. And thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. So police are closer to determining a possible motive in Wednesday's shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California. An ISIS radio station announcing this morning the two shooters were, quote, "supporters of the terrorist group." Tashfeen Malik and her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, killed 14 people and wounded 21 others by opening fire at the Inland Regional Center. They both died in a police shootout hours later. The FBI announced Friday they are investigating the massacre as an act of terrorism and that there was an -- there was evidence in extreme planning. Let's go to Polo Sandoval who is live for us right now in Redlands, California. A worrisome night for the community. They are really not sure what to think about all of this, are they?</s>POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely not, Fred. In fact with this new information that seems to surface, it suggests that there could be several possible ISIS links. People in this community are watching the story even closer now. And you go among the community, talk to people and folks are talking about the story. It is really all over the headlines. And you don't necessarily have to pick up the paper, simply go out for a walk. Especially past 53 North Center Street. And this is a reminder of what happened earlier this week.</s>SANDOVAL (voice-over): San Bernardino on edge. Overnight, police evacuated a UPS facility and called in the bomb squad to investigate a package. It was addressed to the home of Syed Farook. It turned out to be safe, posing no threat. This comes as the FBI announces that the mass shooting is now being investigated as an act of terrorism.</s>COMEY: We are spending a tremendous amount of time, as you might imagine, over the last 48 hours trying to understand the motives of these killers and trying to understand every detail of their lives.</s>SANDOVAL: Another recent revelation about Tashfeen Malik, the female shooter in the Wednesday massacre that left 14 dead and 21 wounded, she posted a pledge of allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Facebook, while the shooting was happening. The mass shooting may have been inspired by ISIS, but the terror group apparently did not district or order the attack. It may be a case of self-radicalization. The possibility that's left family members baffled.</s>SAIRA KHAN, SISTER OF SYED RIZWAN FAROOK: I've asked myself if I had called him that morning or the night before and asked him how he was doing, what he was up to, if I had any inclination, maybe I could have stopped it.</s>SANDOVAL: Meanwhile, police are downplaying the possibly that Farook appeared angry when he suddenly left the holiday luncheon at the Inland Regional Center, only to return heavily armed with his wife.</s>CHIEF JARROD BURGUAN, SAN BERNARDINO POLICE: We had initial information from a witness or some witnesses that left the party and provided information that it appears that he left upset or under some form of duress. There is also indication from other people that he was there. There was nothing out of the ordinary and then suddenly he was gone.</s>SANDOVAL: And back at the doorstep where officials believe much of this was planned, people continue to make their way out here, Fred, which is interesting especially today many people are not working. So we have lost count of the number of individuals that have stopped by, with cameras or phones taking pictures. But at the same time, many people mentioned as well, including that UPS driver, as well, police saying he did the right thing when he -- instead of delivering that package, went back to the sorting facility.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much, in Redlands, California. So the pictures and the videos from that horrific attack in San Bernardino paint a very tragic scene in just minutes. 14 people were killed, 21 others injured. Listening to the police scanners during the shooting gives you an idea of just how chaotic it was.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, last seen in the alleyway headed towards school. Do we have a clothing description?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Male, dark-skinned is all I have on this frequency.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can get that and --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In order to have them go there. We need more people here unless it's the SWART team. That's it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your exact location?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're at San Bernardino and Shedden. San Bernardino and Shedden. We can see one guy down, one guy in the back of the car. And we need that bearcat.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just for the update, we have the suspect vehicle stopped. Please go ahead and extract it. We go stand by, wait for the bearcat.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Copy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now we have one down outside the car. One down inside the car.</s>WHITFIELD: Lieutenant Mike Madden was one of the first San Bernardino police officers to arrive. And he says what he saw was unspeakable. He also wants to remind people that most officers sign up for the job because they truly want to protect the public.</s>LT. MIKE MADDEN, SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA POLICE: The situation was surreal. It was something that I don't think again we prepare for. And they tried to -- an active shooting, we talk about sensory overload. They just try to throw everything at you to prepare you for dealing with that. What you are seeing, what you're hearing, what you're smelling and it was all of that and more. It was unspeakable. The carnage that we were seeing. The number of people who were injured and unfortunately already dead. And the pure panic on the face of those individuals that were still in need and needing to be safe. The initial 50 people did not want to come to us. They were fearful. And they were in the back hallway area and that actually heightened my concern that -- and my fear that potentially, the suspects were in that hallway holding them hostage and waiting for us to enter into the hallway. We had to tell them several times, come to us, come to us. Ultimately, they did. Once that first person took the motions forward, it opened the floodgates and everybody wanted to come and get away from that as quickly as possible. You know, we've taken a lot of hits lately. Some justified, much of it not justified. And it takes a toll. It takes a toll on all cops because it's hard being -- it's hard being labeled and hard being branded as, you know, being rogue, or, you know, and I guarantee you that no cop comes into this job with the mindset that, oh, great, now I have ultimate power to be corrupt and to violate people's rights. There are cops who go astray. But overwhelmingly, the vast majority of officers, when I say vast majority, I'm talking 99.5 percent of the officers go out and they do the job to protect the public. And yesterday just reminded me of that and it just solidified that again in my heart and in my mindset. And for that, I'm -- for that I'm thankful.</s>WHITFIELD: Incredible. Well, Lieutenant Madden grew up in San Bernardino and is a 24-year veteran of the police department. All right. Coming up, one of the San Bernardino shooters apparently pledged allegiance to ISIS. We'll tell you what President Obama said about that and our safety here at home.