COUPLE KILL 14 AT MEETING VENUE IN CALIFORNIA, USA

SCENE OF POLICE CONFRONTATION WITH COUPLE

It has been reported that Syed R. Farook, 28 and Tashfeen Malik, 27, who were both decked out in body armor and armed with assault rifles and handguns, yesterday, Wednesday opened fire at a meeting inside the Inland Regional Center, San Bernardino, California, USA killing at least 14 people and injuring at least 17 others. The reasons for their action remains unknown though police say Farook, a health inspector who attended the routine meeting, may have left in anger and returned with Malik. The couple, who first met online, eventually saw themselves in Saudi Arabia.

The couple after the late morning shooting are said to have left the scene in a dark-colored SUV. They were, however, immediately located by the police, who shot at the vehicle. At the end of the confrontation with the police both Farook and Malik were confirmed dead at the scene. The police subsequently confirmed that the couple who were either friends or married acted alone.

One Chris Nwadike, like Farook, a restaurant inspector with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, who was at Wednesday's meeting, said the meeting was routine, one in which employees rewards were to be given amongst other recognition. He said he sat at a table with Farook and he with other workers noticed he left over 30 minutes before the shooting, leaving something behind at his seat.

Nwadike said a 15-minute break was on with a number of the attendees outside the hall when the shooting occurred noting that if everybody was inside, there would have been a total massacre. He said he was in the bathroom when the shooting began adding that he heard one initial loud blast and thought that something had fallen. He stated that he and others in the bathroom lay on the floor until they were escorted out by the police officers.

The authorities are meanwhile trying to identify the origin of the four weapons recovered from the dead couple, two assault rifles and two handguns. They are also trying to find out if an incident like a workplace dispute led to the shooting. Another angle being investigated is if the person who left the gathering had gone to the location to study the target before launching the attack even as terrorism is not being ruled out.

The White House spokesperson reported that President Obama had been briefed on the shooting by the Homeland Security adviser Lisa Monaco and had requested for an update on the situation as it developed.

The president is said to have repeated his call for "common-sense gun safety laws" and improved background checks in the United States.