Reports: San Bernardino Shooter Died in 'Mist of Blood'

DA's office compiles firsthand accounts of what happened during manhunt, shootout
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 26, 2017 9:55 AM CDT
Reports: San Bernardino Shooter Died in 'Mist of Blood'
In this Dec. 2, 2015, file image taken from video, armored vehicles surround an SUV following the shootout in San Bernardino, Calif.   (Uncredited)

Authorities released a report Thursday detailing the manhunt and shootout with a husband and wife who killed 14 people and wounded 22 others in the 2015 San Bernardino attack. The report released by the San Bernardino County district attorney's office includes the accounts of nearly two dozen law enforcement officers. Key things from the report, per the AP:

  • How cops found the attackers: As officers began arriving at the Inland Regional Center, where the shooting had occurred, several victims told them that Syed Rizwan Farook, their co-worker at the county health department, had been at the party but left about a half-hour before the shooting. One of the assailants, they said, had the same stature and body shape, but his face was covered by a mask. Investigators then learned Farook had rented a black SUV, which matched the description of the assailant's car, and tracked his cellphone to his home in Redlands. Officers began pursuing the car, but as they tried to pull it over, the couple shot at officers through the back window.

  • The shootout with Farook: A San Bernardino police sergeant recalled grabbing a rifle from his son—a fellow officer—and pointing it straight at Farook, shooting at him five or six times. "One of the rounds passed through Farook, who had exited the vehicle, causing a mist of blood on impact," the report says. "Farook fell to the ground but was still moving." Farook clutched his rifle as he lay on the ground. The sergeant fired twice more at him. An autopsy found Farook was shot 27 times.
  • The shootout with Tashfeen Malik: After her husband was killed, Malik kept firing at officers from inside the SUV, officers said. They could see a silhouette through the shattered back window and saw Malik ducking down behind a seat for cover as she fired in spurts. They said it seemed she had been "blindly firing towards the officers rather than taking aim." An autopsy found Malik had been shot at least 15 times.
  • Items found in the SUV: Police retrieved a black backpack with 14 rifle and pistol magazines, a military-style ammunition container with 870 rifle cartridges loaded into 10-round clips, along with three rifle sighting systems and several bags filled with hundreds of ammunition cartridges.
  • Rounds fired: The suspects fired about 80 rounds from rifles and one bullet from a handgun. Officers shot 440 rounds from rifles, shotguns, and handguns.
(More San Bernardino shooting stories.)

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