Syed Farook contacted people known to the FBI as potential extremists - raising questions as to why he was not on the FBI's radar. Latest here
What we know so far
California gunman Syed Rizwan Farook had been in contact with known Islamic extremists on social media, a U.S. intelligence official said on Thursday.
Police added that police said he and his wife had enough bullets and bombs to slaughter hundreds when they launched their deadly attack on a holiday party.
The details emerged as investigators tried to determine whether the rampage that left 14 people dead was terrorism, a workplace grudge or some combination.
Wearing black tactical gear and wielding assault rifles, Farook, a 28-year-old county restaurant inspector, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, sprayed as many as 75 rounds into a room at a social service center for the disabled, where about 75 of Farook's co-workers had gathered.
On Thursday, Jarrod Burguan, the San Bernardino police chief, outlined the arsenal his officers had discovered.
At the social service center, the couple left three rigged-together pipe bombs with a remote-control detonating device that apparently malfunctioned, and they had more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition remaining when police killed them in their rented SUV.
At a family home in the nearby town of Redlands, they had 12 pipe bombs, tools for making more, and over 3,000 additional rounds of ammunition.
"We don't know if this was workplace rage or something larger or a combination of both," said Loretta Lynch, the US Attorney General.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Farook, who was Muslim, became radicalized - and, if so, how - as well as whether he was in contact with any foreign terrorist organization.
Officials said Farook had been in touch on social media with extremists who were under FBI scrutiny and that the attack was being treated as a “potential act of terror”.
But the contact was with "people who weren't significant players on our radar," dated back some time, and there was no immediate indication of a surge in communication before the shooting.
Wednesday's rampage was the nation's deadliest mass shooting since 2012, when 26 children and adults were slain in Newtown, Connecticut.
In San Bernardino, a Southern California city of 214,000, the victims ranged in age from 26 to 60.
A further 21 people were injured, including two police officers with two reported to be in a critical condition.
Nearly all the dead and wounded were county employees.
Authorities said the attack was carefully planned.
"There was obviously a mission here. We know that. We do not know why. We don't know if this was the intended target or if there was something that triggered him to do this immediately," David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office, said.
Farook has no known criminal record, Burguan said. He was born in Chicago to a Pakistani family, raised in Southern California and worked at San Bernardino County's Department of Public Health for two stints totaling four years since 2010, according to authorities and acquaintances. The Saudi Embassy said he traveled to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2014 for nine days.
As for Malik, she came to the U.S. in July 2014 on a Pakistani passport and a fiancée visa, authorities said. To get the visa, immigrants submit to an interview and biometric and background checks - screening intended to identify anyone who might pose a threat.
They were married on Aug. 16, 2014, in nearby Riverside County, according to their marriage license. Both listed their religion as Muslim.
The couple had a 6-month-old daughter who they dropped with relatives Wednesday morning before the shooting.
Farook was a devout Muslim who prayed every day and recently memorized the Quran, according to brothers Nizaam and Rahemaan Ali, who attended Dar Al Uloom Al Islamiyah mosque in San Bernardino with Farook.
Rahemaan Ali said he last saw Farook three weeks ago, when he abruptly stopped going to the mosque. Ali said Farook seemed happy and his usual self, and the brothers never saw a violent side.
"He never ever talked about killing people or discussed politics, or said that he had problems at work," Rahemaan Ali said. "He always had a smile on his face."
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