2015 San Bernardino attack facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 2015 San Bernardino attack |
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| Part of terrorism in the United States | |
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| Location | Inland Regional Center San Bernardino, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates |
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| Date | December 2, 2015 10:58 a.m. – 3:14 p.m. (PST) |
| Target | San Bernardino County employees attending a holiday event |
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Attack type
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Terrorism Mass shooting Shootout Workplace shooting |
| Weapons |
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| Deaths | 16 (including both perpetrators) |
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Non-fatal injuries
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24 |
| Perpetrators | Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik |
| Motive | Islamic terrorism |
On December 2, 2015, a terrorist attack, consisting of a mass shooting and an attempted bombing, occurred at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. The perpetrators, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple living in the city of Redlands, targeted a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health training event and Christmas party of about 80 employees in a rented banquet room. 14 people were killed and 22 others were seriously injured. Farook was a U.S.-born citizen of Pakistani descent, who worked as a health department employee. Malik was a Pakistani-born green card holder.
After the shooting, the couple fled in a rented Ford Expedition SUV. Four hours later, police pursued their vehicle and killed them in a shootout, which also left two officers injured.
According to the FBI's investigation, the perpetrators were "homegrown violent extremists" inspired by foreign terrorist groups. They were not directed by such groups and were not part of any terrorist cell or network. FBI investigators have said that Farook and Malik had become radicalized over several years prior to the attack. Farook and Malik had traveled to Saudi Arabia in the years before the attack. The couple had amassed a large stockpile of weapons, ammunition, and bomb-making equipment in their home.
Enrique Marquez Jr., a friend and former neighbor of Farook's, was investigated in connection with his purchase of the two rifles used in the attack. Marquez was arrested in December 2015, and later pleaded guilty to federal charges of providing material support for terrorism and making false statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm. Marquez also admitted that, in 2011, he conspired with Farook to carry out attacks, plans which were abandoned at the time. Three other people, including Farook's brother and sister-in-law, were arrested for immigration fraud in connection with a sham marriage between Marquez and Mariya Chernykh (the sister-in-law of Farook's brother). All three pleaded guilty.
Contents
Inland Regional Center attack
Aftermath
Gun control discussion
President Barack Obama called for "common sense" gun safety laws and stronger background checks as part of a bipartisan effort to reduce the frequency of such shootings. Obama called for legislation to block people on the anti-terrorism No Fly List from purchasing weapons. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan opposed this proposal, saying that denying persons on the list the right to bear arms would violate their due process rights.
After the shooting, some Democrats sought to tighten federal gun control regulations, while some Republicans criticized what they believe to be "the Obama administration's unwillingness to come to terms with the true threat posed by Muslim extremists." Members of the California State Legislature also proposed to revisit some gun-control proposals that had previously stalled, with one assemblyman proposing a prohibition of the sale of guns to those on the federal No Fly List. On January 8, 2016, Representative Pete Aguilar of Redlands spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives and called for gun control.
Prior to the attack, a measure was sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein; it would allow the U.S. to ban sales of guns and explosives to people listed on government watch lists of suspected terrorists. The so-called "Feinstein Amendment" came to the Senate floor one day after the attack, but failed on a party-line vote, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. On June 16, 2016, Tina Meins, the daughter of one of the fourteen people killed in the attack, spoke in a press conference arranged by Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, just a day after Murphy launched a fifteen-hour filibuster on the U.S. Senate floor, regarding federal gun control legislation. In the press conference, Meins asserted her support for gun control and questioned the Senate's vote against the Feinstein Amendment.
The New York Times published a front-page editorial, the first in 95 years, which called for gun-control measures. Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr., publisher of the Times, said the placement of the editorial on the front page was "to deliver a strong and visible statement of frustration and anguish about our country's inability to come to terms with the scourge of guns."
On April 20, 2016, California state lawmakers gave initial approval to five gun control bills. The measures have been opposed by a number of politicians and gun rights organizations such as the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of California. Some of the bills were approved by Governor Brown on July 1, 2016, and went into effect in 2017.
Planned memorial
On May 5, 2016, a group created by San Bernardino County announced plans for a memorial dedicated to the victims and survivors of the attack, as well as the first responders involved. Details about the design of the memorial, meant to be a fountain and garden, were released on the next day. Groundbreaking was slated to begin on June 2, the six-month anniversary of the attack. As of 2017, however, the memorial was still in the development stage. Such memorials usually take five to ten years to be completed.
Release of after-action report
On September 9, 2016, the Police Foundation and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) released a review of law enforcement response to the attack. The review provided a detailed overview of the incident response; lessons learned to improve responding agencies' policies, procedures, tactics, systems, culture, and relationships; and guidance to other agencies and first responders.
Anniversary commemoration events
On the first anniversary of the attack, a bicycle ride hosted by the Redlands-based club "Ride Yourself Fit" was held at 7:30 a.m.; dozens of local bicyclists, many of them police officers, rode 14 miles (23 km), with one mile representing each person killed in the attack. The remembrance bicycle ride continues to be held every December 2. A remembrance ceremony was held at a local blood bank at 8:00 a.m. Later that morning, over 200 people at the Inland Regional Center held a moment of silence outside the building. At 3:30 p.m., a "Peace Garden" was opened on the campus of California State University, San Bernardino; it was dedicated in the memory of five of the victims, who were all alumni of the university.
See also
In Spanish: Masacre de San Bernardino de 2015 para niños
