The suspects in the shooting rampage were a married couple who had just dropped off their 6-month-old daughter with her grandmother, family representatives said.
Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, were married two years ago, according to Malik’s brother, Farhan Khan, shown above.
On Wednesday morning, Farook and his wife dropped their daughter off with Farook’s mother in Redlands, saying they had a doctor’s appointment, said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Los Angeles office.
The grandmother grew worried when she heard of the shooting attack in San Bernardino, and “she started calling. No answer,” Ayloush said.
The family was worried the couple were shot in the attacks, but then they started receiving calls from media outlets indicating Farook was a person of interest.
Farook was born in Illinois, and his parents immigrated to the U.S. from Southeast Asia, Ayloush said.
As investigators worked overnight searching a Redlands home linked to the shooting rampage, nearby residents said they were stunned to learn that this sleepy town was connected to the tragedy.
Dozens of people gathered outside yellow police tape crisscrossing the neighborhood where two suspects fled from law enforcement Wednesday before a gun battle with police that led to their deaths in San Bernardino.
“All these shootings are too close to home,” a CVS worker in Redlands said just before midnight.
The neighborhood — a mix of houses, condos and apartment buildings — was marked by well-kept lawns and illuminated by porch lights.
One resident, Faith Sanders, said that although cars were broken into from time to time, the neighborhood felt safe. The 48-year-old has lived there for five years.
“I’ve been stuck to the TV all day,” she said. “I was shocked because I was watching it there. Then, all of the sudden, it’s here.”
SOURCE: LA Times
