SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Dec. 4 (UPI) — Tashfeen Malik, the woman who helped carry out a shooting that left 14 dead at a county health department holiday party, pledged her allegiance to the Islamic State in a Facebook posting, federal law enforcement officials said.
Malik, 27, posted a pledge of allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but there was no indication the group directed her or her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, to carry out the attack, which also left 21 injured. Officials said radicalization may have played a part in the shooting, but they also have not ruled out indications the shooting occurred following a religion-related workplace issue.
“At this point we believe they were more self-radicalized and inspired by the group than actually told to do the shooting,” an anonymous official told The New York Times.
Investigators said Farook and Malik have never been in trouble with the law and neither was on lists of potentially radicalized people. They did find indications Farook has infrequent communications with at least one person with terror connections.
The couple met through an online dating site. She was a Pakistani native who was living in Saudi Arabia when she married Farook. They have a 6-month-old daughter, who is now living with Farook’s family.
Friday, the San Bernardino County Coroner released the names of 14 people — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — shot dead at the party. Most of the victims were employees of the public health division of the San Bernardino County Department, inspecting everything from restaurants to tattoo parlors.
The only victim who did not work for the county was Larry Daniel Kaufman, 42, who ran the coffee shop at Inland Regional Center and trained the developmentally disabled. Friends remembered him as a warm person who enjoyed the annual springtime Renaissance fair in Southern California.
“He was so full of life it was ridiculous,” said longtime friend Stachia Chadwick.
Also killed were Bennetta Betbadal, 46, who fled Iran “to escape Islamic extremism and the persecution of Christians” and Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, a devoted Messianic Jew who was known to be outspoken about Islamic terrorism and had strong conservative views.
The others killed are as follows:
— Shannon Johnson, 45
— Aurora Godoy, 26
— Isaac Amanios, 60
— Harry Bowman, 46
— Yvette Velasco, 27
— Sierra Clayborn, 27
— Robert Adams, 40
— Tin Nguyen, 31
— Juan Espinoza, 50
— Damian Meins, 58
— Michael Wetzel, 37
Another 21 people were injured in the shooting, some with serious injuries that include a shattered pelvis and multiple gunshot wounds. Some were able to contact family during the shooting, including Kevin Ortiz, who was shot twice in the leg and once in the shoulder. Ortiz, a county environmental inspector, called his father after the shooting.
“Kevin called me immediately after he got shot and said, ‘ I’ve been shot three times, Dad. I’m in pain. Don’t worry. There’s a policeman with me.’ “
