right through breaking news. southern gunmen, these two shooters opening fire on a social services center, killing at least a dozen in a matter of minutes. plus a desperate manhunt. officers searching a neighborhood door to door. two suspects taken down after a high-speed chase and a violent gun battle in the street. and police questioning another person of interest tonight. and the suspects. who were they? what was their motive? and how does a nation come to terms with yet another mass shooting? >> this is special edition of "nightline," "california

>> this is a special edition of "nightline" -- california shooting rampage. >> good evening. tonight there are fast-moving developments in the california shooting rampage. new information coming in right now. multiple federal law enforcement officials telling abc news they believe one of the suspects is a man named syed farook, reportedly connected to the san bernardino health department. the same department that was holding an event at the building

at least 14 people dead, 17 injured, after the masked gunman walked in and opened fire. two suspects are dead, killed in a gun battle with police after a high-speed car chase. another person of interest is being detained for questioning. abc's matt gutman is on the scene, has been following the story all day. matt, what do we know at this hour? >> reporter: we're learning so much more about syed farook, the alleged suspect involved in the shooting, he was the man killed in that fierce gun battle with police that happened about a mile away from here. we've learned that he may have been a health inspector with the san bernardino county department of public health. the environmental division. and that he may have been part of this day-long training session taking place right in the building behind me. byron, i think you can see probably in the third story, the lights are still on in the building where that attack took place. an eye witness said that farook was there, he got up and left the table shortly before the

firing took place. dozens of bullets ringing through, people taking cover, 31 people shot, 14 of them killed. farook is now believed to be one of them. his brother-in-law went on television in a press conference saying that he didn't know what happened to his family members, that both his brother-in-law and his sister have not been heard of since the morning. he has no idea why they might have done what they are alleged to have done but he apologizes for everybody and hopes that those who have been hurt will recover. but a tremendous scene of chaos here and urgency and ferocity among so many of the law enforcement agents here. we've been watching as armored personnel carrier after armored personnel carrier barreling through here, going from one reported sighting of a possible additional suspect to another, chasing down those two suspects,

apparently gunning them down in that fierce gun battle, and still they are combing through that building. over the past hour or so we've heard four or five loud bangs. now on police scanner traffic we've heard that officers were warned that controlled detonations were taking place. we know federal officials and police officials have been combing through that building trying to look for additional explosives. they know they found at least one device that was suspicious. and they apparently detonated that. >> matt, what about this third suspect? we've been hearing about it all day. >> reporter: well, we know that they're looking for him. because they basically shut down an entire neighborhood. most of the city's been shut down. they were really going door to door in a neighborhood about a mile directly behind me. so close to the irc that building that's lit up. again, s.w.a.t. teams barreling through, going door to door. they heard reports about a suspect hopping fences.

there are helicopters in the sky. trying to locate this person. apparently it is not the third suspect. but so many eyewitnesses there. that building has or had about 600 employees at the time. we saw hundreds of them being patted down and led out, escorted out by armed officers. many of them had to be registered to make sure that none of the alleged attackers blended in with them. some of them were still crying they were so so rattled by what they saw. there were so many eyewitnesss there that people saw three gunmen, a lot of the stories seemed very similar. people saw three gunmen leaving there in a dark suv, possibly a black suv, and that is apparently the suv that officers managed to corner, box in, and of course neutralize those suspects inside. the search for that third suspect is still very much ongoing. it's one of the things that continues to rattle this community. byron, this entire city was basically on lockdown for multiple hours today. schools, government offices,

allowed to talk on the phone. that's how much concern there was for people's safety here. and still knowing there may be a third gunman on the loose. somebody who is capable of perpetrating an attack that bloody, of a planned attack that bloody, is certainly a cause for concern here, byron. >> matt gutman reporting, thanks so much. this has been a difficult day. chilling 911 calls and swift reaction from police. >> -- that someone had come in and started shooting and they ran into an office and she's hiding with some other people. >> reporter: the text message no parent wants to receive. terry petit's daughter inside the inland regional center in san bernardino when witnesses say up to three gunmen in assault-style clothing entered the facility and opened fire. >> shooting a the my work, people shot, in the office waiting for cops. >> she's okay? >> pray for us.

of the deadly rampage coming in around 11:00 a.m. >> multiple shots that were fired. we're getting a suspect last seen wearing a black ski mask, all black clothing, carrying a shotgun. >> reporter: witnesses outside describeing a barrage of bullets. >> i was going home, all of a sudden boom! it was like right here. >> boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. >> they said they were on the loose. >> i was right behind the building and i heard all the shots. >> reporter: the gunmen firing inside a large conference room where the department of public health was holding a training session. >> unknown race male all-black clothing with a black mask. we have victims down. >> reporter: worried families receiving text messages and phone calls from loved ones of the horror unfolding inside. >> she said she was in a room, she locked herself up, there were shooters. >> reporter: olivia navarro's daughter janelle, a case manager for special needs children, called her mother. >> have you been able to get ahold of your daughter? >> just the phone call and then

>> reporter: frank montes waiting anxiously for his niece. he tell miz colleague matt gutman they spoke on the phone. >> she said something about three shooters, machine guns. >> she was outside when it happened on her break? >> yeah. >> then what happened? >> they hit the floor, they ran inside to their manager's office and barricaded themselves. >> you seem pretty nervous. >> yes. >> still upset. but she's okay? >> she's okay. but i just want to comfort her. >> reporter: still many desperately trying to make contact with their loved ones. >> i haven't been able to contact my boyfriend. he's in there. him and his brother. if you see this, ryan, call me, let me know you and your brother are okay. >> reporter: juan hernandes was staying at a hotel across the street. he came out when he heard the gunfire. >> just a bunch of shots, multiple shots. shots going off like crazy. just one right after the other. and as i came out, then we had seen a black suv flying down the street. what i saw looked like one guy

>> reporter: within minutes a massive law enforcement response. s.w.a.t. teams wearing body armor closing in. rifles drawn. >> making entry through the back door, east side. >> reporter: a nurse filming as the operation unfolded. >> they're all geared up, rifles and everything. >> rifles? >> reefrgifles and everything. >> reporter: several down in the conference room, several down. >> two suspects both dressed in black and inside the business on the south side is what we're being told. >> i need some medical aid in here immediately. >> they went into actor protocols, the things we train for. they immediately entered the building in search of the suspects. >> reporter: paul la croix's son was also inside. >> he says the alarms went off and they were all told to hunker down and hide, shelter in place. >> reporter: he was among those who evacuated as lawful began usher be peel from the building hands ins the air to make sure attackers weren't blending in with the crowd.

>> patted us down, checked our bags, checked our registration i.d.s, now we're in the parking lot. >> reporter: 45 minutes after the first call the radio dispatch, the hunt now on for possibly three gunmen. >> the suspects, possibly all three, fwled in a black suv. >> reporter: marcus' wife work in the facility and got out safely. >> she said the guy came in next to her office and started shooting. they locked themselves in, in her office. they seen bodies on the floor. >> reporter: a triage area set up in this intersection at a nearby golf course. the injured carried away on stretchers to nearby hospitals. >> we did receive five adult patients which stemmed from the original incident in san bernardino. of those five patients, two are critical but stable. two are fair. and one is still being assessed. and all five do remain in the hospital.

least 14 were killed. at least 17 injured. s.w.a.t. teams still inside the huge building complex going room room, looking for victims and any explosives that attackers might have left behind. >> that device they found, they do have it and they're taking it out of the building now. >> reporter: unclear at this point whether it was an explosive. >> preliminary information indicates these are people that came prepared. that they were dressed and equipped in a way to indicate they were prepared. and they were armed with long guns, not handguns. >> reporter: also unclear the attack. >> is this a terrorist incident? not know. >> reporter: while the events strongly on gun control. >> the one thing we do know is that we vat pattern now of mass shootings in this country. has no parallel anywhere else in the world. there are some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one

improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently. commonsense gun safety laws. stronger background checks. >> reporter: tonight, 14 people have been confirmed dead and at least 17 others are being treated for their injuries at local hospitals. >> i don't know any individual who couldn't be shaken up by this. you know, we hear of these mass shootings all over the country. and i think you all could agree that this just hit a little bit too close to home. it is home. so we're all shaken by this. we're all bothered by it. >> reporter: it would take authorities three hours to track the suspects in that black suv. with bullets raining down. coming up, more on the shooting rampage. the dramatic standoff between the suspects and police. i asked my dentist if an electric toothbrush was going to clean better than a manual? he said sure. but don't get just any one. get one inspired by dentists. with a round brush head.

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we're back with the special edition of "nightline," the deadly california shooting rampage. in and a violent standoff between the police and the alleged suspects.

a massive manhunt for up to they armed gun men in california came to a head. >> we are in pursuit of the suspect vehicle. we've got shots fired out the back window. >> reporter: kabc on the scene hovering above this black suv that the authorities have been searching for for three hours. >> we've got multiple officers here, officers running, back east now, chasing, now on foot. look at all those units. this is where a suspect is at. >> multiple shots that were fired. >> reporter: windows blown out. the front door ajar. police crouching at a safe distance away. but this was the shoot-out or cameras missed, that neighbor mussa malalan captured on his phone. what sounds like fireworks is a firefight, police raining bullets on that suv. >> the left side driver's side completely blown out. this was a very, very graphic shoot-out.

street feet away. the black suv riddled with bullets. one suspect still inside. as police run into position, single file, up across the lawn. >> we can see tactical teams moving up the sidewalk, looking for positions of advantage right now. police are going to run in single file because it makes you less of a target. >> more officers using concealment and cover behind this post, behind this hedge line. >> reporter: five minutes later two armored vehicles approach the suv from both sides. >> you actually boxbasically box a person in. car in the front, car in the back, many times on the side, there's no place to go. >> reporter: followed by a vehicle called a tac cat, armed with a miss stick shield. >> the whole point of armored vehicles in a law enforcement setting is exactly how they use this particular event. where you take the vehicles and you use them as cover to protect

firearms or potentially other explosives. so by using the vehicles they've given themselves a couple of things. cover, concealment, and also it allows them to sort of take their time. >> reporter: officers cautiously approaching. but it appears the suspect inside is already dead. two suspects dead at the scene. one male, one female, both armed with assault rifles and hand guns. dressed in what police described as dark tactical gear they were dressed in kind of assault-style clothing i think probably is the best way to determine it. >> reporter: but all afternoon authorities have been looking for up to three suspects. one person of interest was seen fleeing the scene. >> i don't have any information on who that person is and we certainly do not know if they were involved, it's possible they were not. >> reporter: police have detained a third suspect in a nearby neighborhood after receiving reports of someone jumping a fence.

read lands neighborhood using a robot to sweep the apartment. >> going to use a robot and probably tactical vehicles to go up to this house. the reason why is there's been discussions all day about potential explosives. even the police chief mentioned there might be a pipe bomb at the initial crime scene. so keeping that in mind, keeping in mind that you're dealing with such mega-violent people, you want to make sure you're not walking into a booby trap. if you send a robot in, if it triggers something, so be it. no one else is armed. it also gives you the opportunity to send it in and then it can be your eyes and ears inside the house. and once you feel like that it's sufficiently cleared at least maybe the first floor of that residence, then you make a tact cat tactical entry after that. >> potentially a treasure trove of information in that house. >> reporter: all this happening seven miles away from the site

massacre. coming up, new details now just emerging about the suspect. our matt gutman is on the scene. >> this special edition of "nightline" brought to you by volkswagen.'re here. here's dad. mom. the twins. aunt alice... you didn't tell me aunt alice was coming. of course. don't forget grandpa. can the test drive be over now? maybe just head back to the dealership? don't you want to meet my family? yep, totally. it's practically yours, but we still need your signature. the volkswagen sign then drive event. zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first months payment on a new jetta

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details are still unfolding at this hour about the deadly california shooting rampage. we're learning more about the alleged suspect, syed farook. law enforcement officials and his brother-in-law say he is an american citizen. let's go back to abc's matt gutman in san bernardino. matt? >> reporter: byron, american

bernardino department of health,