incomplain you can see how that his loved one is safe. and there were casualties. up to 20 people were shot. local media in southern california reporting up to 12 people have been killed. there is one report according to a local station that there were three shooters armed with rifles, and that they are not in custody. and that police have been warned to be on the lookout of a black suv possibly a gmc yucon, which has fled the scene. jennifer? >> the san bernardino county sheriff department tweeted 19 minutes ago that the scene is still active in bernardino. he asked that anyone with information regarding the shooter incident should call an

anonymous tip line. >> in all caps, david, very active, avoid. this is coming from the san bernardino sheriff department saying 18 minutes ago this was still an active scene. they're asking people with any information to call the tip line. they're asking people to avoid the area. of course, incally nation i in--inclination is that many wanting find out if their loved one is safe. that's the last thing you should do. do not come to the area if you're outside of the area that they're trying to secure right now. >> there was a statement put out by the ceo of the southern california social services. by the way we're looking at a

picture from earlier. we see the s.w.a.t. team responding and moving in. there was a statement put out by the ceo social services center who is based there in the center of the shooting who said that this happened in a conference room area. it involves a group renting space. i'm in the sure if anything else has come out about that? anything more about the group who may be using that space or who maying occupying the office space at the time of the shooting? >> david, we have no new information about who was inside that building, who may have been occupying the space. there has been conflicting reports not just from the media, but all the multiple law enforcement agency who is are trying to secure the scene, work the scene and relay information about the building itself. if that building was, in fact, a target. we do know that the inland

regional center, as we've been reporting, offers social services for people with developmental disabilities, according to the center's facebook page, there are several hundred people who work there. we don't know how much people were there at the time of the shooting. >> we'll squeeze in a break. the police are looking for a black gmc yucon. multiple reports that several chuters were involved in the shooting in san bernardino. there is evidence that the police are acting on to search for vehicles in the area, and as swat teams continue to go through the regional center and clear the facility room by room and. there are reports that 20 people have been shot.

reaction continues to pour in from across the united states. the latest mass shooting in this country. we'll get to that on the other side of this break. you're watching al jazeera america. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm david schuster in new york. you're looking at a live aerial picture of san bernardino, california, south of the scene where two hours ago there was a mass shooting at a facility known as inland regional center. reports up to 12 people killed, at least 20 total shot. they're looking at the map of inland regional center. a building that provides facilities for people who have developmental disabilities. we've gotten information that the shooting happened in the conference room area of the facility, and involved the group that had been renting that space today. there are a number of reports that this was not just a single shooter but allegations of multiple shooters, perhaps as many as three, and police have been told to be on the look out for a black suv, black gmc uconn, and there is one eyewitness, one allegation that some of the shooters fled the

scene in that vehicle. again, there is a familiar rhythm too mass shootings in the united states. there is information sorted out about how this "z" this happen and who was involved. there are eyewitness boss provide information to the media, and politician who is are briefed on the situation and offer their shots president obama has been briefed on this mass shooting in the united states. >> the president was briefe briefed--there is information that he was briefed within the last hour. we've seen this many times before. president obama has made that point, that we've seen this far too many times before. we're told that agents from the

alcohol, tobacco and firearms are in the area and will be assisting as well. the president's office will no doubt issue some sort of a statement, but we've heard from him routinely on this. he has said that this has become routine. in the last few times we heard from him it is clear that he's very frustrated. again he has to come out to the podium. he has to make a statement to grieving families, to a grieving nation, and he has been very frustrated in his attempts to perform any sort of gun laws in this country. again, he was asked about it again just this week in paris at the climate summit. the president said that we have to stop those with violent tendencies from getting weapons. he was also of course made a statement after last friday's shooting at colorado springs. the president then saying that this is not normal.

we cannot let this be normal. at the said if we truly care about this we have to offer up our thoughts and prayers for god knows how many times with a truly clean conscious that we have to do something about the ease accessibility of weapons on our street. the president has made the point on the war of terrorism saying that we're spending millions to fight the war on terrorism. he said tally up the number of people killed in the united states by those with guns, and you'll see this is something that we need to take on as well. we've also heard villa twitter from the congressman who represents that district, david, his name is paul aguilar. the 31st congressional districts. he said that his thoughts are

with the victims and families of this attack. he said my heartaches that the out-of-control gun violence epidemic has come to our community. i think that's what really happens when these things happen in various parts of the country. everyone is we can't believe that it happened here. that's the feeling in san bernardino as well. after the sandy hook horrible shooting at sandy hook elementary school back in 2012, the president did attempt to put some stricter gun control laws in place, but it's just not going anywhere in this congress. so the president when he comes out to the podium. when he tries to make these speeches, he's trying to rally the american people to get behind some commonsense gun laws. so far we've seen no political appetite for that on capitol hill. >> al jazeera easily is a stark in washington. thank you very much. the police, by the way, are

apparently confirming, they're now confirming at least 12 people killed in this mass shooting. that is no longer simply attributed to law enforcement sources. apparently that's coming from the police department in san bernardino. iin addition to what you heard from lisa stark, the reaction coming from the political universe from the right to left, we'll get to that in a second. just in case you're looking for the latest information, the police are now confirming 12 people have been killed in a mass shooting in san bernardino, california. there were early reports as many as 20 people had been shot. this all took place starting two hours ago. about an hour and a half into this incident police were still describing the scene as an active shooting scene. they have not changed that. in addition there are reports that police are looking for a

black suv that there may have been multiple shooters involved with long weapons and body armor that has not been confirmed. but the police are on the lookout for the los angeles area east of los angeles in the san bernardino area. they've been on the lookout for a black gmc yucon. there is one allegation, one witness who claimed that they saw multiple shooters get in that black suv and leave the scene. vincent hill is a private investigator who joins us by phone from atlanta. it's hard to know how much information is going to the media in realtime and how much we're playing catch up, with police in the area being told to be on the look out for a black suv, that would lend credibility perhaps to multiple people involved in the shooting. is that a fairway to read this?

>> yes, absolutely, david. also what it tells me now that we've confirmed that 12 are dead, this is where it gets--as it has not been dangerous already, this is where it gets really dangerous. these guys know they have killed 12 people. if they do have body armor, this reminds me of the bank shootout in the '80s, and the they had body armor, and now this is heightened. these guys are not going to go down easy. if you know what i mean. >> again, from what we flo know about the inland center, do you have a sense of how long it would take a s.w.a.t. team to

clear a building like this? >> oh, it's very methodical. i wouldn't even put a time limit on it per se. though there are crucial seconds, crucial minutes, they have to go through every inch that have building to make sure that no one is hiding, to make sure there are no hostages and no victims and in this day and age there, are no explosives they have taken in there as well. there is a lot of stuff they have to do. that's hours upon hours before they clear that building. >> we're talking with vincent hill, former police officer, we're talking about this report where multiple suspects may have fled the scene in a black gmc yucon. how difficult is it for police to say i think i did see someone with a weapon get in a black suv and flee the scene. how quickly are they able to confirm that information from

other eyewitnesses from the original shooting scene. >> they have to take every report as serious. but the problem is you're talking about southern california where at any given moment there could be a hundred black yucons driving down the road. that's the problem for officers to identify which one. these guys are smart enough to know let's not drive at a high rate of speed. let's not draw attention to ourselves. that's going to be the difficult part. you want to start looking at surveillance footage from around the area to see if you can get a license plate, a facial recognition, things that have nature. >> the police are confirming that people have died in san bernardino, at least 12. this is now coming from place. the san bernardino police department spokesperson said that there are multiple casualties. she said that it appears there was more than one shooter. she believes that they were wearing military-style attire.

i just want to read to you some of the political reaction that has come in. first from senator dianne feinstein: >> hillary clinton, i refuse to accept this as normal. we must take action to stop gun violence now. martin o'malley. horrifying news out of #san bernardino. enough is enough. time to stand up to nra and enact meaningful gun safety laws. donald trump, this is when our police are so appreciate:

governor mike huckabee, praying for those impacted by the shooting in california today. again, reaction pouring in from across the united states, and of course the political institutions, the president has been briefed. governor jerry brown in california has been briefed. the police are on the look out for a black suv. at least one eyewitness allegation that there are multiple shooters, and they got into a black suv gmc yucon and pled the scene. the shooting began two hours ago, and as of about an hour and a half into this, this is not yet been updated, the police say that does not.

>> there is one allegation that they may have fled the scene in a black suv. they are talking with the local media. here is an example. >> i was going to the bus going up. i turned on, and bom, bom, bom, and then boom. they're on the loose. >> right behind the building. i heard all the shots. >> i was walking down by--out back and people out there, and they heard it. i don't know what is going on here. >> that is the first eyewitness account on tape which someone describes actually heard shots being fired and described the noises and described how frightening it was. part of the confusion for police is you're talking about a

facility where literally upwards of a thousand people may have worked in this office complex, and it's not just of course the office complex there are restaurant nearby. the there are other stores nearby as well. when you're talking about high-powered caliber guns or assault weapon or rifle there could be echos across a large area and sometimes people hear the sounds from one particular area and it's an echo coming from some place else. we're joined by vincent hill. i imagine that's another challenge for police as they're trying to piece together these eyewitnesses, sometimes what they're hearing. it may sound to them that the shots running out to the east when the shooting came from the west? >> yes, absolutely. you may be dealing with ricochet or delayed echo, that's always going to be a challenge to say yes, it came from the east. it came from the west. unless you saw where the shooter

was standing, it's hard to determine where they were. >> again, the police are confirming 12 fatalities. take us through what happens in a local police department in terms of the information they released to the media, that they released publicly. what is involved in making that decision to go ahead and confirm something like that? >> well, i think right now i'm sure they have thei what they're going to release to the media. the more information you put out tout, the more suspects will change their tactics. >> vincent hill, former police officer, we're now two hours when the first calls came in to

911, and when s.w.a.t. teams and police and fire rushed to the scenes. they've not changed their description of this as an active shooting scene, and the police are looking for a suspicious black suv at least one allegation that a shooter or multiple shooters got into the suv and fled the scene. we saw a few minutes ago pictures of some of the helicopters who were parked along the golf course scenarios the street from the inland regional center. what would air traffic, what would be going on in terms of police, radio, and how would that information get disseminated with other agencies who are watching this and hearing these reports? >> i'm sure there are a lot of teletypes going on be on the look out there are going to be

other tobolos. >> what is a tobolo? >> to be on the lookout. >> vincent hill, former police officer, thank you for standing by. we'll bring you the latest reaction and the latest death toll. the police have reported 12, but that number could go higher. we'll explain on the other side of this break. you're watching al jazeera america.

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>> you're looking at live pictures from early today. in san bernardino, california, where the facility with the white roof and orange dome, that's the facility where the police responded two hours ago to reports that as many as 20 people had been shot by multiple gunmen. police have now confirmed that 12 people were, in fact, killed if addition--in addition there may have been more killed, and that multiple shooters were inside and leaving.

this happened on south waterman avenue in san bernardino. multiple fatalities. officers say they have not yet secured the main building where this happen, that is because the police are going room to room trying to clear what is a very large office tower. as we look at these pictures earlier, one local hospital is confirming that it received four patients in its trauma center after the shooting at the social services facility in san bernardino. a spokeswoman for the loma linda university medical center said that she did not know their conditions, but the hospital expects to get three more patients. with more from los angeles is jennifer london. jennifer, with the police confirming 12 killed in these reports of police being on the lookout for a black suv, any new

information, anything more that can be added to that? as you know if they're still describing this citizen an active shooter scene at the facility where this first happened? >> it's our understanding, according to the san bernardino sheriff department that they're still calling this an active shooter situation. what we don't know is are they saying that because they believe there are possible shooters on the scene, or is it simply because they have not fully secured and fully locked down the area. that's information that we simply don't know. we have seen the reports that three suspects may have fled in a black suv. eyewitnesses the word there are reports of gunmen heavily armed, wearing ski masks, rifles and wearing protective vests. there are unconfirmed reports on

twitter, again i stress that they're unconfirmed reports, just information being out there that this may have been a christmas party. that was perhaps the scene of the shooting. some authorities are saying that on twitter, but again that is unconfirmed. what has been confirmed, david s that the sheriff's department is saying 12 people have been killed. more than 20 have been injured, and the san person press conference we're being told. >> for the latest up date from police, and the police are still describing the regional sound where it's described as an active shooting scene. the police, as far as we can understand, they still have not cleared every room in the facility. joining us now is a workers rex, a specialist at the inland

center. andries ton, i understand that you actually were not at work today. what do you know about what happened, and where were you when it happened? >> yes, i'm home today. i've been home sick, actually, and i was actually getting ready to go to a doctor's appointment, and i was watching the news. not only do i work there, but my mother lives down the street as well. called coworkers to make sure that everybody is okay. my coworkers are fin, fine, from my understanding. there. >> kristen there are reports that this happened in a conference center, conference room area that may have been rented out. do you know anything about that? and if so, what group might have been using the conference center today?

>> i'm not sure about which group. it's a three-building campus, and yes, the third building is used primarily for training and events. and this time of year it could have been anything. i know we had a christmas bazaar planned for tomorrow. i don't know if this was in preparation for that or if this was a separate event, but i do know that something was going on in that building today. >> can you describe a little bit more from what you heard from your colleagues who were safe, and again, they are at lucky o ones because reports of 20 people shot, 12 of them killed. what are your colleagues saying about what they heard, what they saw, and where in this campus they might have heard or seen things happen? >> they didn't see anything. they were in an operate building. what i do know is that this were evacuated. and if some from hiding in

closets and whatnot once they did hear shooting, right now all i know is that earn has been evacuated, and but everyone has been out safely although they were still in the building. >> kristen, does everyone who work in this campus-like facility, do all of them work for california social services? >> inland regional is funded by the social services, so we work for human regional, but we are state funded. >> can you give us a sense of some of the groups' organizations that had office space or have office space in this inland regional center. >> it is. >> we have a couple of liaisons,

primarily in regional center there is are about 600 employs total. i don't know how are in san bernardino and how many are in riverside, but the majority are in-on-another question did you or any of your colleagues, have you been given any warnings or any reasons to be on the lookout or wary of former employees anything out of the normal in the last boutiques in cream

couple of moments. >> no, but we've been undergoing active shooter training. >> what have they been telling you what to do in these situations? >> to be careful. i haven't had the training yet this year, i'm not sure what was discussed, but i knew we were discussing the training. >> have you heard anything from your boss, your supervisor, to stay away from the fairings for the next couple of weeks? >> i haven't spoken with anyone. i was it would by my marc

--nobody knows anything. >> kristen, thanks so much for joining us. we appreciate you talking with us. joining us now in studio is lou polumbo, he now runs the private security firm. what do you make of the information that we learned? as many as 600 people total, perhaps 300 people to 400 people in this one facility. they've undergone police shooter training. reports of 12 killed. reports of multiple shooters, what do you make of it all? >> first i want to comment on the number ever shooters. how many shooters participated in this assault? if we find out in fact that

there was more than one, two, going forward, i would start to tell you that this is more than likely a terrorist incident, domestic or foreign, however it ends up being labeled. >> the information we have, we don't know if there is one, two or three. there are reports that there are three. but there are reports that this happened in a conference center where it was being rented out. that would seem to suggest not necessarily terrorism but someone who had an axe to grind or someone who had a beef with some of their colleagues. >> perhaps an individual. that's why i said to you if we find out its more than one individual this is not a single individual who is, for example, a disgruntled employee, workplace vie lens. this was a staged assault if we have more than one shooter.

to discern what happened versus what we think happened, that will take the investigation into a different direction potentially. but identifying who participated in this is going to take us down a new avenue. one individual demonstrates a disgruntled approach to a workplace or medical care that he didn't receive that he felt was appropriate. that's not what we're talking about. if there is more than one shooter involved. >> the police are leaving it open that there were more than one shooter.

given this beyond the lookout from police in san bernardino to other law enforcement agencies, a black suv, a black yucon seen fleeing this event, this there were multiple shooters in there, how does that change the police response? >> it doesn't change their response. now are they now looking for a possible vehicle carrying suspects who participated in it. this is a good lead, questions opaques. i want to say one thing, if you go in and you can have five people in a row watching what is happening and have different reports of what transpired. having cameras in place that waoufplt.

>> even before they penetrate the perimeter of this type they're able to make a an assessment of what is going on inside. the technology does exist where cameras can be plugged in to law enforcement. and they'll have eyes on what is transpiring what is happening for some time. >> it's not unusual for travels have cameras. how quickly would police able to get these cameras, and now we're two hours into this, is it fair to assume that the police have viewed those cameras right now? >> part of the responsibility of the police department whether local or federal law enforcement agencies is to properly manage information that they're

discovering. they want to satiate the appetite of the media, but you don't want to give too much information because you may give too much information to the people who conducted this assault. >> we were talking with kristen myrex, and she mentioned that they have undergone training for mass shootings, you made note of that. >> yes, did i. i don't want to make light of it. it's important that we peach people how to protect themselves and evacuate in tempts of fires, but the sad truth to all this the only way to really address it is if you have a national security adviser eight in place to now i'm not suggesting that we put law enforcement in every

school, i could train you all day long for active scenarios, but it's not going to heighten your chance of survival. what you do have in praise is someone who is armed and trained to deal with active shooters and that was not in place. >> this is a campus-like facility with tree buildings. we can see police vehicles. that looks like a truck and a van it would seem that based on the body language is that they're more relaxed? >> i would not make assumptions based on what we're reported through vehicle presence or law enforcement in general. this is a crime scene it's going

to be treated as such until they're satisfied they can release it. as far as these other people, you see a number of white cars, and there are black and white vehicles, there could be vehicles involved in hazmat or something in support of the police officers or investigators. those are the first vehicles on the scene. they're still barked there. >> but these other vehicles that are nondescript, they may be forensic, hazmat vehicles. i'm looking over your shoulder not to be disrespectful, but i can see a white pick up truck there. a lot of vehicles they're using

in law enforcement are bit more nondescript. there are vehicles today that are in circulation from the law enforcement community that are much more nondescript so they don't give their presence out immediately. >> lou, we're going to keep you on the disk. we do expect a police news conference from the san bernardino police department in the next couple of minutes. we're going to take a break. we promise in the news conference starts we'll. bring it to you. at least 12 people killed in this mass shooting in san bernardino. you're watching al jazeera america.

house? >> you know, just with respect to my successor, let me first of all say that i'm anticipating a democratic succeeding me. [ laughter ] >> i'm confident in the wisdom of the american people on that front. even if somebody from a different party succeeded me, one of the things you find when you're in this job, you think about it differently than when you're just running for the job, and what you realize is what i mentioned earlier, that american

leadership involves not just playing to a narrow constituency back home, but you now are in fact at the center of what happens around the >> the shooters were still not on the prims citizen. it is not suggested that it is the shots that were fired two hours ago, but it has taken the police that long to go room through room and building by building and essentially clear them, bring the people out who are hiding, talk to them and make sure that no one is left in this facility. if you're just joining us, approximately 300 to 400 people work in the facility that you're looking at. this is tape from an hour half ago when police were responding.

>> the purpose to protect the outpatients of the vehicle, but perhaps to remove some material or something of concern that they feel may lend itself to this shooting situation today. >> we have that tape from an hour ago. hour and 15 minutes. the police are still treating this and are concerned there is an active shooter on campus. perhaps the shooters fled the scene, and again we're expecting a police news conference in just a couple of minutes. in the meantime there have been a number of reactions from people who were there at this facility in san bernardino including a member of the clergy who were on the scene. >> i think it is time to unite and come together, and we can't any longer hear about these things happening and not feel a call to action. there is something that we have to do. we have to make sure that social services are being offered to people with mental diseases. we have to make sure that we're

erasing discrimination. not just in our police forces but our cities and neighborhoods. get back to being a community of people. >> they're talking about social services. this is a facility to help people with developmental disabilities. it's a series of buildings. on the left part of your screen with the glass doors, palm trees and receded roof. we believe that's the conference area where this took place. then the regional center. what we're told is that there was a group, perhaps a group associated with the social service organization that was using the conference room there in the center of your screen. and that's where the shooting took place at least the shooting began with reports at least 20 people shot and police confirming that at least 12 people have been killed. what has made this so angle

guyty-producing for law enforcement in southern california are these reports some from eyewitnesses but not corroborated or confirmed, but a number of eyewitness who is say it was not just one person but as man as three with long weapons and body armor and there was report that prompted police to urge other police to be on the look out for a black gmc uconn, a black suv seen leaving the facility soon after the shooting. we expect to get an update on that lead in a couple of minutes. when the san bernardino police department gives us the latest news. we also expect an update on the death toll, which currently stands at 12. the injury toll as many as 20 people shot. there has been reaction from across the united states from politicians, the white house is monitoring, the governor of

california is monitoring. we're joined in studio by lou palumbo, you're talking about this particularly unique and that this would suggest something very different to you than a disgruntled employee if they describe someone a more than one person involved in this. >> yes, this would be described as a stage assault and individuals who conduct advance work or reconnaissance making assessment of how they would assert themselves into an environment and how extract themselves and lending itself to the possibility that they facilitated a get away based on the information of a black suburban. >> and reconnaissance, because of the report that this happened at a conference center that you believe this was something that might have been scoped out in advance if this was, indeed, more than one person involved. >> absolutely.

i think that without question if there were more, if there is more than one shooter involved, there was a lot more work put into this than the random anger or emotionally detached rage that we experience in a conventional shooting that we experience like at planned parenthood or shooting in santa barbara bra memoria memorial a couple of years ago. this is going to take the investigation into a completely different direction, and it will put it right in the hands of the fbi. >> those of us in the media, we're trying to play catch up with what the police are doing and we're two and a half hours into when the calls first went into 911. is it your expectation by now two and a half hours by now the police would have confirmed at least for themselves whether or not it was just one shooter or whether there were multiple shooters. >> i think the police and law enforcement kno in general know

far more than they are telling. i think they have a lot more information involved in this. if you have noticed no one has spoken to this incident. it's not likely that the fbi will speak to this. prudently they'll allow local law enforcement speak to these incidents but a lot more will go forward when they identify the number of shooters. this will take this into a completely different direction than the shootings that we experience on a for a too regular basis. >> is there protocol if the police have confirmed or suspect there were multiple shooters and we were expecting this news conference and spokesman in a few minutes s there a protocol they would say to the public if they believe the shooters and there are multiple shooters and they fled the scene? >> before they say there are multiple shooters, they're going to know unequivocally that is the case. the minute they come out in that

statement in a former capacity capacity--formal capacity every will speak about terrorism. that's not to say that one individual won't commit a terrorist act, clearly they can. but as a rule those are people at a workplace violence. people didn't receive the treatment they thought they were entitled to. when two or more people are involved with this, these welcome conspirac--these become conspiracies. >> would you say that the columbine shooters were terrorists. i'm not talking about a particular group but a strategy. >> absolutely. that was a terrorist act. i was there the following day. that was a terrorist incident. we want to be careful. we understand the landscape of

america, the sensitivities and our emotional building to manage situations and truth. this is going to be whatever it's going to be based on the confirmation of the number of shooters. it's not going to be simply identifying who one disgruntled person was. the fbi along with secret service and any number of agencies including our intelligence community are going to have to put their brains together to figure out who may have carried this out. >> given this was not a federal government facility. not a military installation, not a police department, not a school, not planned parenthood, it's a facility engaged in social services in trying to help people who have developmental disabilities, whether it's education, job training, sex education. is there anything about that that jumps out at you that has some significance? >> no, that's interesting because the next question that pops up is then why would they focus on this particular facility? there doesn't seem to be anything sexy about it,

volatile. it does not lend itself of being representative of the government. if what it may be simply stated because it was a soft target, and target enriched as well. >> we're talking with lou palumbo, a retired detective talking with us on studio. we expect the news conference from the san bernardino police department to begin momentarily. and we would expect, of course, that it's--we can see california state highway police are also part of that local police department perhaps other federal agency personnel who may be standing by. and as we await for that, and we're waiting for confirmation whether this is still an active shooting scene at the inland regional center where this began and confirmation whether police believe this was a case of multiple shooters or just one, as we're waiting for this information, on the phone with us now is jj green.

the national security contributor, jj, what do you make of this, and everything that has happened, the police confirming 12 killed. it was not a government facility. it's a social services facility. what do you make of it? >> three points. the multiple shooters have been confirmed by police out in san bernardino. number two, authorities of dhs have noticed within the last year there have been active shooters-- >> jj, i'm going to have to cut you off because we're going to the news conference now, and we'll get your reaction on the other side. >> with the san bernardino public affairs division. a telephone in the event you have information for investigative leads. 1-866-346-7632. you can call 1-800-78-crime if

you wish to be anonymous. a couple of quick introductions. we have chief from the san bernardino police department standing to my right. sheriff john mcmahon to my left, and the assistant director of the in charge of the l.a. office of the fbi, david. with that i'll hand it over to the chief. >> good afternoon, everyone. this started off at 11:00 late this morning. we received a call from the inland regional center of a shooting. it was quickly apparent we had what amounted to an active shooter situation. there was a massive law enforcement response. initially it was officers from our department who responded, and then very quickly as word spread through the region we had a massive response from

virtually every law enforcement agency in the immediate area to include the sheriff department, the police department, the california highway patrol, probation department, a number of agencies responded. what we have so far is information to up to three people had entered the building and had open fired on people inside of the building. we do have some preliminary numbers of upwards of 14 people that are dead, and upwards of 14 people who are injured. we think that those are pretty reliable but those are potentially subject to change. those are preliminary numbers. the 14 wound have had been taken to various area hospitals. there was a massive medical aid response from genera area fire departments as well as the ambulance and medical response. the officers initially arrived

on scene. they went into the active shooter protocols, the things that we train for. they entered the building looking for suspects. the suspects were potentially still inside of the building. it is a massive facility, employs several hundred people, and it's taken a long time to clear the building. i think we still have assets inside that are completing that clearing process. information that i think is probably the most reliable at this point is that the suspects have fled potentially in a dark-colored suv. we don't have any identification on who those suspects are. we don't know what the mode of shooting is at this point. so with that i'm going to turn it over to the sheriff for a couple of comments. >> thank you, chief. we're working closely with the san bernardino police department in an unified command as well as our federal partners to make sure that we have the resources we need to thoroughly investigate this event.

our officers are working hand in hand with members of the san bernardino police department as well as the other agencies to serve the building as the chief indicated. that search is still ongoing. because of the information that the suspects may have fled the area, we have also shut down and locked down the courts and the local city and county buildings in the general area around san bernardino. we have an increased law enforcement presence at all the high profile areas including hospitals. we've been in contact with the school district and the school police chief to take care of the school side of things. we continue to make sure that we do everything we can to keep the public safe. we've been in contact with the board of supervisors, and they've pledged to help resolve this as well. we'll work together to investigate this case once the scene is secure, and work hand in hand with the city of an

person as we do in other high profile events. i'll now have the director of the fbi say a few words. >> thank you, sheriff. the fbi is here, and we're here to essentially assure that all the wound ready extracted, and ultimately public safety is the number one goal at this point. we'll work as law enforcement community to assure that we have done everything we can in our power to find, locate, apprehend the subjects. at this point i know one of your questions is going to be is this a terrorist incident? i will tell you we do not know if this is a terrorist incidents. we give them the assumption that we will work hand in hand from the beginning. if things change there is