FBI treating San Bernardino shooting as a counterterrorism investigation

SWAT officers search for suspects in the San Bernardino shooting.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 3 December 2015

The San Bernardino shooting on Wednesday that killed 14 and injured over a dozen more is now being investigated as a counterterrorism case due to new information about the suspected gunmen, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27.

While a motive is still very much unclear — and officials stress that just because a case is being investigated as counterterrorism doesn't mean that the act was, conclusively, one of terrorism — The New York Times reports that Farook was notably in touch with an individual in the United States who was recently investigated for suspected terrorism. Both Farook and Malik traveled abroad as well; Farook was an American citizen, while his wife was in the country on a Pakistani passport. David Bowdich, the assistant director of the FBI office in Los Angeles, confirmed that some of their travels were to Pakistan.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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