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The San Bernardino county sheriff has confirmed the presence of an active shooter near the 1300 block of S. Waterman in San Bernardino, CA. At least 12 people are dead, with another 20 reportedly injured.
The city’s Fire Department says on Twitter that they’ve received reports indicating as many as 20 people were shot. A SWAT team appears to be on the scene and emergency crews are reportedly setting up a triage center near the city’s convention center and other patients appear to be receiving treatment on a local golf course.
At least 12 people are confirmed dead and Los Angeles’ FOX 11 reports cops are currently searching for “3 white males dressed in military gear.”
Witnesses say the men had masks on and may have been wearing body armor, ABC reports. They were armed with rifles and “came into the office and started shooting,” sometime around 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
The shooting apparently began at the Inland Regional Center, a nonprofit organization that works with people with developmental disabilities. There are reportedly 21 independently operated Regional Centers scattered throughout the state serving the developmentally disabled—many of them underage—and their families.
An employee at a different center says the San Bernardino office featured an “open design like the DMV.”
One man, Terry Petit, tells NBC he received a text from his daughter—who has since been confirmed safe—asking him to pray for her.
“People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office,” the text reportedly read.
It is still an active scene and San Bernardino police have reportedly asked news outlets not to show the building (pictured below) until the investigation has concluded.
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Update 3:05 p.m.
The FBI, ATF, Fire Department and Sheriff’s department are all on the scene. Witnesses say firefighters are using pickup trucks to evacuate victims. An NBC cameraman on the scene reports seeing at least six injured victims loaded in the back of one truck because “there wasn’t enough time” to wait for ambulances.
Update 3:15 p.m.
President Obama has been briefed on the shooting, NBC reports.
Update 3:22 p.m.
Police may be closing in on one of the shooters, according to a Los Angeles Times reporter.
Update 3:40 p.m.
Police appear to be asking news outlets to stop filming over the scene, citing its “active” nature and the FAA has issued a temporary flight restriction over the area.
Update 3:47 p.m.
According to a report from the LA Times, federal officials are searching for a black SUV that “fled the scene” of the shooting.
Update 4:02 p.m.
One Los Angeles Times reporter provides more details on the shooting.
Update 4:14 p.m.
San Bernardino police confirm the Regional Center was hosting some sort of event today when “multiple shooters came in and just started shooting.” They were reportedly dressed in “military style” attire.
Update 4:25 p.m.
NBC is reporting a developing SWAT situation nearby in Pasadena that’s believed to be related to the shooting. [UPDATE 4:30 p.m.—NBC now says the Pasadena situation is not related to San Bernardino.]
Update 4:30 p.m.
According to ABC, the gunman or gunmen opened fire on some sort of county banquet that was being held in a rented conference room in the building.
Update 5:00 p.m.
In a press conference, San Bernardino authorities are now saying at least 14 people are dead and an additional 14 injured. The gunmen, who were armed with “long guns not handguns” reportedly fled the scene in a black SUV and are still at large.
“[The shooters] came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission,” San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said.
Update 5:40 p.m.
President Obama was apparently already sitting down for an interview with CBS when he was briefed on the shooting. He provided the network with this brief statement:
The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world, and there’s some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don’t happen as frequently, common-sense gun safety laws, stronger background checks and, you know, for those who are concerned about terrorism of, you know, some may be aware of the fact that we have a no-fly list where people can’t get on planes but those same people who we don’t allow to fly could go into a store right now in the United States and buy a firearm and there’s nothing that we can do to stop them.
Update 6:15 p.m.
According to reports, San Bernardino cops are currently chasing a suspect who has reportedly “fired shots out the back window.” Per NBC, at least one suspect was hit by gunfire.
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Update 6:25 p.m.
The standoff between police and the suspect or suspects in the black SUV continues after a shootout. NBC says “one to two suspects might be down,” with a third potentially still at large.
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Update 6:45 p.m.
According to the LA Times, the shooting may have been a workplace dispute: It apparently when after a man “angrily” left a meeting that was being held inside a rented conference room at the Inland Regional Center and returned, armed, with two other people.
A relative of a witness tells the LA Times, “Everyone dropped to the floor. It was during a holiday party,” 27-year-old Denise Peraza told relatives. “The guys opened fired for 30 seconds, randomly, then paused to reload and began firing again.”
Update 6:55 p.m.
WJZ Baltimore reports all three suspects have been reported “caught or down” but NBC Los Angeles says a third suspect seen “running through the neighborhood” with a weapon is still at large and may be hiding out in an apartment building.
Update 7:08 p.m.
San Bernardino Police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes said during a press conference that one suspect is dead, one suspect is in custody, and one suspect may still be on the loose. An officer was also reportedly injured during the shootout.
The New York Times cites a police scanner report in its coverage, noting that “police on the local scanner said that a man with an orange shirt fled into business complex, with officers in pursuit. They were trying to secure the top floors of parking garages on either side, so no one would be exposed when they tried to rush up stairs toward the suspect.”
Update 7:31 p.m.
On Twitter, citing federal law enforcement sources, the LA Times’ Rick Serrano expands on an earlier theory—that a man “angrily” left a meeting at the Inland Regional Center, before returning with two others, all armed—suggesting that one of the gunmen went to the meeting earlier in the day in order to make sure that a specific target was present.
Update 7:40 p.m.
Someone close to the shootout uploaded a video to Snapchat in which the sound of gunfire can be heard. The video was shared to the Los Angeles-area Snapchat “story” and can be seen here.
Update 8:00 p.m.
According to the New York Times, investigators believe one of the three gunmen worked at the Inland Regional Center:
A witness has told police that although the gunmen had their faces covered, one of them sounded and appeared very similar to an employee who had left the facility earlier in the day.
“They had their appearances covered but a witness believed it had been someone who worked there,” said one official.
KTLA is reporting that police, accompanied by tactical officers and at least two Bearcats, are serving a search warrant in Redlands.
Image via ABC. Contact the author at gabrielle@gawker.com.
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