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Update On Suspects: Syed Farook And Tashfeen Malik Had ‘IED Factory’ In Their Home

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 00:56 PST, Dec 3, 2015

Update on suspects: Tashfeen Malik was from Pakistan, where Syed Farook recently traveled. Malik was issued a Green Card to come to the United State after she married Farook. Multiple news agencies have reported that Syed Fook was radicalized before the San Bernardino shootings. He was in contact via both phone and social media with more than one FBI terrorism suspect. President Barack Obama insists that it is still too soon to tell if the Inland Regional Center shootings were an act of ISIS inspired terrorism and not workplace violence.

Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik Update – Fox News is reporting that the wife of the male San Bernardino shooter was a native of Pakistan. She was not known to be on any terrorism watchlist.

San Bernardino shooters Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik have been married for about two years, according to relatives. Farook recently returned from a trip to the Middle East and reportedly spent about one month in Saudi Arabia. The Redlands home shared by Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook has been deemed an “IED factory” or “IED facility” by some law enforcement sources.

Syed Farook, 28, has been described as a devout Muslim who began growing a beard over the course of the last year. The couple had a 6-month-old daughter, WYFF 4 News reports.

Before going to the Christmas party at the Inland Regional Center, a gun-free zone, Farook and Malik took their baby girl to the home of the county employee’s mother. If emerging news reports are accurate, Syed and Tashfeen lied to his mother and said that they had to go to a doctor’s appointment that day and needed her to babysit. The grandmother reportedly became concerned after seeing news reports about the San Bernardino shooting on television and was unable to reach Farook.

Tashfeen Malik, 27, was a pharmacist and met Farook on an international dating website. Little is currently known about the woman Syed suddenly announced was his wife after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia, Fox News reports. No photos of the female San Bernardino shooter have yet been found on social media or released to the public by the FBI or the joint terrorism task force now heavily involved in the mass shooting investigation.

Syed Rizwan Farook appears to have worked as an environmental inspector for the California county for five years. In 2003, Farook reportedly earned a $53,000 taxpayer-funded salary. He graduated from California State University San Bernardino with an environmental health degree in 2009.

Neighbors of Tashfeen Malik and Syed Farook told the media that in recent weeks there was a flurry of activity at their home. According to the witnesses, a multitude of Middle Eastern individuals had been seen coming and going at all hours, and a vast amount of packages had been delivered to the home. At least one neighbor said fear of being labeled a racist or Islamophobic prevented a phone call to the police to report the unusual activity.

Pipe bombs found after the shooting did reportedly contain explosives, indicating to the FBI and the joint terrorism task force that Farook and Malik were not done with their killing spree. An RC car controller is believed to have been converted for use as a pipe bomb ignition switch. Either the bombs failed or the shooters were too far out of range to activate.

“They came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission,” San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said.

Inside the black SUV, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik had “rollout bags” containing more bombs and additional ammunition. Each of the San Bernardino shooters wore a GoPro camera during the shooting. Whether or not any footage from the camera was sent to another individual or sleeper cell member for future publication remains unknown.

The gunman is said to have left the Christmas party at the Inland Regional Center abruptly. Some witnesses said that he had some type of dispute with another person at the gathering, others say they did not realize he was gone until it was time for a group photo and he was nowhere around.

Farook has no record of criminal activity, he purchased the handgun used in the crime legally, and the AR-15 semi-automatic rifles used in the San Bernardino shooting were also purchased legally by an unidentified person. There is no indication that Syed’s job was in any type of jeopardy or that an ongoing problem existed with his employer. The shooter was described as a quiet and polite man who kept to himself at work.

Do you think Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik were part of a sleeper cell or committing an ISIS terror attack?

[Photo by Chris Carlson/AP]

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