Syed Farook, Tashfeen Malik: San Bernardino Terrorists Received $28,000 Bank Transfer Days Before Attack, FBI Investigating

The San Bernardino, California, terrorists, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, received a suspicious bank transfer of $28,000 just days before the Inland Regional Center shooting. The FBI says that they are investigating the unusual transfer and have confirmed that the terrorist couple had been “radicalized” by extremists “for some time.” The investigators note that a withdrawal of $10,000 in cash was made on November 20, 2015, and multiple $5,000 payments going to Farook’s mother.

The Daily Mail reports that San Bernardino shooters Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik had allegedly been planning the California terrorist attack for some time. In fact, the FBI notes that Farook visited Riverside Magnum Shooting Range twice in the days leading up to the shooting and that his wife, Tashfeen Malik, joined him for one of those shooting practices. The gun range notes that Farook fired both and AR-15 assault rifle and a handgun on the Sunday and Monday before the massacre. It was also noted that Farook spent several hours there during one session, practicing his aim with the weapons. In addition to the shooting range preparations, the pair also created numerous pipe bombs in their Redlands home.

The FBI claims that the bombs were designed to detonate when first responders arrived at the scene and that the plan was to kill additional people but also to strike fear into first responders, according to one source working closely on the case.

“This was meant to kill more, but also scare other future responders to attacks. This was meant to get into the minds of medics and officers who are arriving first on scene.”

The FBI also indicated that the attack was pre-planned and that Farook received a $28,000 bank transfer just two weeks before the San Bernardino shooting. The terrorist withdrew $10,000 in cash on November 20 followed by at least three transfers of $5,000 to his mother’s bank account. The FBI does not yet know who the money came from or if it was a loan but noted that the website WebBank.com was used for the suspicious transfer.

One source says that the large bank transfer, pipe bombs, and shooting range information all indicate that the San Bernardino attack was pre-planned and not the result of a workplace disagreement as many had suggested early in the investigation. Although Farook may have left the Christmas party in anger, the FBI officials say the attack was terrorism and that it had been planned for some time by the terrorist couple.

The FBI says that the pair had been radicalized for “some time” but does not know exactly when that radicalization took place. Farook met Malik through an online dating website and went to Saudi Arabia to meet her. He then brought Malik back to the United States as his fiance, and the pair married in the United States. Photos of Farook and Malik going through United States customs at O’Hare airport in Chicago has also surfaced.

With the FBI acknowledging that both Malik and Farook were terrorists, they are now delving deeper to determine exactly when the couple were “radicalized” and how future attacks can be stopped.

The FBI also believes that Farook and Malik may have been planning more attacks since more than 4,500 rounds of ammunition and a dozen pipe bombs were found in the couple’s home that were not used in the California terrorist attack.

[Photo by U.S. Customs and Border Protection/AP]