SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Dec. 4 (UPI) — The San Bernardino County Coroner released the names of 14 people — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — shot dead at a county health department holiday party, the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since 2012.
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.’ ”
