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Mass shooting reported in southern California city of San Bernardino San Bernardino police searching for suspects after mass shooting reported
(35 minutes later)
California police have confirmed “one to three possible suspects” in an active shooter event in the city of San Bernardino, saying they are responding to an incident with multiple victims. California police said they are searching for three suspects who fled the scene after a shooting at a care center for people with developmental disabilities on Wednesday.
The county sheriff and fire departments have reported varying numbers of victims, with the sheriff tweeting “multiple victims” and the fire department saying that units have responded “to reports of [a] 20 victim shooting incident”. Related: San Bernardino shooting: bomb squad arrives at scene – rolling coverage
The attack took place at the Inland Regional Center, a medical facility that works with developmentally disabled people. The building was evacuated; people were taken across the street to a golf course, where some were reportedly being treated for injuries. The shooting took place in the city of San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
One local man told ABC7 Eyewitness news in Los Angeles that he had received a text from his daughter saying: “Shooting at my workplace. People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us.” She said she was “locked in an office.” Police confirmed that there were fatalities, but did not say how many people may had been shot or killed. Estimates of casualties vary, with the county sheriff’s office tweeting that there were “multiple victims” and the fire department saying that units have responded “to reports of [a] 20 victim shooting incident”.
They are reporting Swat team officers in the social services building and have aerial shots of people leaving the building with their hands in the air. A law enforcement source reportedly told one local TV station that up to 12 people had been killed. It was not possible to verify the report, which was from ABC7 Eyewitness News.
San Bernadino police confirmed there is a live situation under way and that officers on the scene. A spokesman would not give more details. The Twitter account of the sheriff’s department confirmed “one to three possible suspects”. An official at the San Bernadino County sheriff’s department confirmed to the Guardian that law enforcement was acting on intelligence that three suspects were seen fleeing the scene in an SUV.
Both departments warned residents to avoid the area near Orange Show Road and Waterman Avenue, an area of the city near a golf course. Police units are working to clear the scene and emergency personnel have arrived, according to the sheriff’s department. The official said the information was “intelligence received by the command post” set up by San Bernadino police, which is actively pursuing the lead. The official said they had no current information about the color of the vehicle or description of the suspects, and the radius of the secure perimeter around the center remains unchanged.
One local man told ABC7 that he had received a text from his daughter saying: “Shooting at my workplace. People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us.” She said she was “locked in an office.”
There are reports of Swat team officers in the social services building and aerial photographs of people leaving the building with their hands in the air.
The attack took place at the Inland Regional Center, a care facility that works with developmentally disabled people. The building was evacuated; people were taken across the street to a golf course, where some were reportedly being treated for injuries.
US president Barack Obama and California governor Jerry Brown were briefed on the situation.
Nancy Lungren, assistant director of communications for the California department of developmental services, said the Inland Regional Center is one of 21 facilities in the state that help coordinate services and support people with developmental disabilities including autism and cerebral palsy.
“And it can make all the difference,” Lungren said. “They try to keep them in a community, living at home or living in an apartment.”
Both departments warned residents to avoid the area near Orange Show Road and Waterman Avenue, an area of the city near a golf course. Police units were working to clear the scene and emergency personnel have arrived, according to the sheriff’s department. Further unconfirmed eyewitness reports described three gunmen, wearing ski masks and camouflage, carrying rifles.
No arrests had been reported as of 1pm local time.
The attack is the latest in a litany of mass shooting events in the United States.
There have been at least 351 mass shootings in the US in the space of 334 days, according to the data collection efforts of a Reddit community who record all incidents with four or more victims (including the shooter). Together, those shootings left at least 447 individuals confirmed as dead and 1,292 injured.
Those numbers do not include events that have happened since 28 November.
On Friday, three were killed and nine injured in an attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Chris Murphy, the Connecticut senator who had just been elected when the 26 people were shot dead at Sandy Hook elementary school in 2012, leading him into a campaign for gun control, summed up the feelings of many on social media:
Oh god. Not again. #SanBernardino
Additional reporting by Paul Lewis