Terrorism has no religion, leaders of the San Diego Muslim community said Friday when they gathered to address Wednesday’s massacre in San Bernardino.
A married couple, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, died in a shootout with police following an attack at a holiday party for San Bernardino County's health department employees.
Fourteen people died and 21 were injured in the shooting. Two of the wounded were in critical condition Thursday.
Malik, 27, was a Pakistani who came to the U.S. in 2014 on a fiancee visa. Farook, a 28-year-old restaurant health inspector for the county, was born in Chicago to Pakistani parents and raised in Southern California.
The Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego (MLC-SD), an umbrella body of 16 or more Muslim organizations, extended condolences to the victims of the Dec. 2 shooting.
“We condemn what happened in the strongest form, without any reservation. We believe what happened is an act of insanity and cowardness,” said Abdel Jalil Mezgouri, Imam from Islamic Center of San Diego.
Two of the guns used in the attack were purchased here in San Diego County, sources tell NBC 7.
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One gun a 9-millimeter pistol was bought by Farook and the .223-caliber rifle was purchased by an acquaintance – both legally.
But a law enforcement official has told NBC 7 they are looking into how and when the guns were purchased and if it leads to anyone else who might know about Farook and what led up to the shooting.
Also new Friday, NBC News reported Malik pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and the terror group's leader on Facebook using an alias then deleted the messages before the attacks.
Those killed in the attack were identified Thursday as Shannon Johnson, 45, of Los Angeles; Bennetta Bet-Badal, 46, from Rialto; Aurora Godoy, 26, of San Jacinto; Isaac Amanios, 60, from Fontana; Larry Kaufman, 42, of Rialto; Harry Bowman, 46, of Upland; Yvette Velasco, 27, of Fontana; Sierra Clayborn, 27, from Moreno Valley; Robert Adams, 40, of Yucaipa; Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, of Colton; Tin Nguyen, 31, from Santa Ana; Juan Espinoza, 50, of Highland; Damian Meins, 58, of Riverside and 37-year-old Michael Wetzel, from Lake Arrowhead.
