in other high profile events. i'll now have dave boutige, assistant director of the fbi, say a few words. >> thank you, sheriff. the fbi is here with our state and local partners as well as our partners from the atf. we are here to essentially assure that all the woulded are extracted and ultimately public safety is the number one goal at this point. we will work as a law enforcement community to assure that we have done everything we can in our power to find, locate and apprehend these subjects. at this point i know one of your questions is going to be is this a terrorist incident. i will tell you right now we do not know if this is a terrorist incident. so we start from the beginning, working with all our local partners. we take the presumption that it maybe, it may not be, but we will work hand in hand with them from the beginning. if things change we are here from the get go, and there is no steps lost as the investigation proceeds.

it back over to the chief. >> so very quickly, after the initial response we have several hundred people that were in the building that are not injured. those people have been taken to a safe location, and they are part of the investigation. in addition to that, we know that this is a human incident and this is a tragedy. we know we've got a lot of folks out there that are very concerned and worried about their loved ones that may have been at that facility today. we've set up an area at the hernandez area in the city of san bernardino for family members to go for information. we will push information out to that for those family members as we can. also the sheriff's department put out the crime tip hotline number. if anybody has any information we'd very much like to hear from you. so with that i will take a couple of questions. >> do you have any information on this event that was happening and apparently upwards of three gunmen stormed in? >> i don't.

meeting to a boy tension like a lunch-type gathering maybe for the holidays. that's not confirmed. that is very preliminary. it's my understanding that most of the people that were wounded, most of the victims, were all the facility. >> were there any weapons or body armor, anything like that been recovered? >> in terms of the employees, it's my understanding this facility has both state and county employees as well as organizations. the inland regional center serves a number of organizations that treat mental illness type issues and that sort of stuff. i don't have any idea. i know that state and local county employees work there. i do not know if any of them are the victims or who they are at this point. >> [ inaudible ]. >> i do not have any information that any children were involved. >> [ inaudible ]. >> weapons used and the number of people involved here? given what you have in the way of evidence, witness accounts and everything else would you characterize this as an organized event? what were these men using and

>> preliminary information indicates these are people that came prepared, that they were dressed and equipped in a way to indicate they were prepared. they were armed with long guns, not handguns. i do not know what type of long guns. >> how were they dressed? >> i don't know. >> were any weapons recovered at the scene? >> we do not have any weapons recovered at this point. >> [ inaudible ]. >> chief, could i ask for clarification? you said upwards of 14 dead? what does upwards mean? >> the preliminary number we have right now is that there are 14 people who are deceased, and our count is another 14 people that have been taken to various hospitals for significant injuries, potentially related to gun shots. we also have a number of other people that may have had some minor types of injuries. they fell down in the course of fleeing or something of that nature. but roughly about 14 that we believe are wounded. >> [ inaudible ] inside the building video evidence of what happened? >> i would imagine there are but

>> chief, would you mind again? >> the whole thing? >> is there the possibility that there are more deceased or wounded inside of that regional center? >> i think that that could be a possibility, yes. i don't think we're comfortable saying no at this point. >> have the bomb technician recovered anything which is or building? >> as the teams were going through and searching for the suspects and searching for victims, there were things in the building that were not immediately identifiable that caused them some concern. as a result of that we do have some bomb techs that are on-site that are checking some of that out. i do not know if they were brought in by the suspects. we do not know if their bombs of any sort. just simply things that as our teams were moving through said that needs to be looked at more closely. >> they haven't taken anything apart an or destroyed anything? >> i have no information on that. >> [ inaudible ].

that you believe are related to this event? >> not they know of at this point. >> witnesses said the gunmen said anything? did they say anything? >> we don't have anything specific from those witnesses. we're in the early stages of talking to them. >> [ inaudible ]. >> this is the only active scene that we're working. >> what about security tapes that may have been shot inside? >> that is part of the investigation. i just don't have that at this point. >> can you talk about the suspects, this vehicle, the dark suv? >> that's all we have. very generic, upwards of three suspects, darker suv to flee. >> suspects wearing camoflauge? >> i've never heard camoflauge. >> what were they wearing? >> [ inaudible ]. >> i have repeatedly been told the number is three. but keep in mind this is information that is flowing in as people are talking to witnesses very quickly. as we put everything together some of this may change. we know these are fluid situations. some of the information we put out now may change a little bit in the future. >> is there any description

>> as far as people in the area, we're doing everything we can to keep this area safe. we are addressing other facilities in the area that we think may be similar or may be somewhere but we don't have any information or any credible cilities at this point. we're on a behind the sense of alert. we ask the public to be on a heightened sense of alert watching out for those things. if they come across information contact us and let us investigate it. >> [ inaudible ]. >> i put out what i have. just three. >> were they wearing masks, chief? >> one report i heard is masks were involved, but i don't know that to be definitive at this point. >> do you have any active leads you're pursuing for them right now? >> yes. not going to talk about it. >> did the gunmen say anything at all during the attack, during the shootings? >> not that i'm aware of. >> any sort of threats made prior to this incident? >> that's part of the investigation. we're not going to talk specifically about that right

>> [ inaudible ] i just want to say thank you to all the chiefs, fire chiefs and everything, all the responders. i appreciate that. >> thank you very much. >> do you have any idea how long the attack lasted? >> a few minutes. >> based on how well -- >> a lot of information there from the san bernardino police chief jared berguan about a situation that unfolded, bernardino, california. i think we have a few more minutes. >> [ inaudible ] how are you uipping your people in the field? >> our people in the field go into the field with what they have. we have a number of officers that have high caliber weapons, they carry assault rifles with them. most of the officers carry handguns. the officers that arrived on scene and did the initial work to go into that building and clear it went in with what they had.

>> we do not know where the suspects are. >> chief, how is the fbi getting involved in this? and is there somebody a representative maybe they want to talk in detail? >> we know historically that some of these investigations can turn into a potential federal prosecution-type thing. at this point we don't know that to be the case. but it's better to have them on scene from the very beginning so they know what we know and they are an active part of the vestigation. in addition to that, being from the federal government they bring to the table tremendous resources to help us in doing our job. >> especially when it comes to terrorism. can you talk about that? >> we have no information at this point to indicate that this is terrorist-related in the traditional sense that people may be thinking. obviously at minimum we have a domestic terrorist type situation that occurred here. >> any description at all? white, black? >> we don't. >> [ inaudible ] in the sense they had training? >> the only thing i'm comfortable saying at this point is that the information we have

what they did, as if they were on a mission. >> how long were they inside shooting? >> i don't know specifically. several minutes. >> were the gunmen still there when the initial responding officers arrived? >> we don't know. our police officers have not engaged or exchanged gunfire with anybody. but we don't know if they were on scene when we arrived. >> chief you may have covered this or no. but were the vast majority of the dead and wounded in one centralized location in the facility? >> yes. in the same general area of the facility. >> assumption here, chief, that they had targeted that particular room? those particular people? >> i think we're a little too early in the investigation to even make that assumption. we don't know what the motive is at this point. >> were hostages taken? >> we don't have any information they took any hostages. >> can you describe what types

>> long guns is what i've been told. i think there are people that speculate what type of long guns those are. i don't want to put out a specific type of gun. just saying it's a long gun not a handgun. >> what made you say they were on a mission? >> they came in with a purpose. they came in with the intent to do something. >> was there any threat made to this facility prior to this incident? >> i don't have specifics on that. with that we're going to cut this off. we will be back every hour on the hour to provide an update, even if we don't have anything specifically we will come back to you every hour on the hour at least for the next several hours to provide an update. >> at the top of the hour. >> at the top of the hour is fine. >> jarrod berguan. >> a lot of information there from the san bernardino police chief jarrod berguan about the situation unfolding at the inland regional center in san bernardino, california, unfolded a little over three hours ago on the west coast, 11:00 a.m. pacific time, when it appears that three gunmen came into the shooting.

the sheriff, 14 people with serious injuries at the hospital right now. and perhaps the most chilling news, those shooters still on the loose. pierre thomas our senior justice correspondent, when you heard the sheriff say that you said worst case scenario. >> worst case scenario, no better way to put it, unfortunately a nightmare scenario. they don't know who they are, they don't know where they are, and they have clearly deadly intentions with more potential targets out there. >> perhaps left in a black suv. brian ross our chief investigative correspondent. the sheriff also said these people came prepared, prepared to do what they did as if they were on a mission. >> on a mission. they came not to take hostages which they didn't take. they came to kill and then get out and go somewhere else. we don't know where, they don't know where. and as pierre says, this is a highest concern. this is an active threat right now. >> what he also said, the sheriff said there's no information and he used the air quotes this is a terrorist situation. but he said at minimum a domestic terrorism situation.

whether these are people that have some other issue. clearly i would say from what i was listening to here this was not a disgruntled former employee or someone with a unique argument or issue with this center for the disabled. this was a group of people apparently on a mission. they came, they killed, they left. long guns, perhaps masks, body armor. >> yes. it was serious, it was planned. they left very quickly. in fact they were in and out in a short period of time. i'd like to know what sort of rounds they may have found on the floor. obviously we're not there yet. i thought the chief did an excellent job. put out the information he had. he said we don't have this. he was very concise and well delivered. >> promised update on the hour. matt gutman on the scene inland regional center. several people taken out of the building as well, still being cleared. >> reporter: apparently so, george. what we have been seeing over the past probably half an hour

hour and a half that we've been here is officers, ambulance, fire trucks, starting to pull away from the scene. clearly they don't think that this area is of much danger. and what the chief said is that they do believe those gunmen are on the loose now. that's one reason that we've got reports that across this city, city officials are on lockdown. the courthouses. any government officials are still on lockdown. we know that the courts are being surrounded by a swarm of officers with guns at the ready. this city is very much on tenter hooks right now with those alleged possibly three assailants out somewhere. now they're starting to let people come back in here. but whatever happened in there, even though they still may be clearing that building, i think the bottom line from the sheriff's office and police officers here on the ground that situation is over. we don't know. >> former fbi agent brad garrett with us this afternoon. the chief said there are bomb

scene. >> that again would suggest, george, that they wanted to possible. this. it appears that they didn't go there to die. it appears they wanted to keep their face covered. they wanted to commit this act, they wanted to complicate the scene, maybe kill more people with explosives and then leave. so that then takes you to if it's not islamic extremists, where the likelihood of another event is out there, or is it some domestic extremist group? some hate group? what are the issues in reference to treating the disabled and groups that don't like that or have some issue with it? i'm just speculating here, of course. but if this is just a single event, then there has to be some issue with the individuals who attacked this place and the service they provide. >> that would be one theory, pierre thomas. but as you've been reporting

also been looking at this spate of mass shootings directed at government buildings. of course this inland regional center which takes care of the developmentally disabled does get state and local, county government funding, is a respects. >> exactly, george. everything is on the table right now. because they simply don't have enough information to go on. if you want to understand just how dire the situation is, the fact that he came out and specifically asked the public to help them and to be at a heightened state of alert. also the fact they're going to do briefings every hour on the hour tells you that they know the community is extremely afraid and they want to give people as much information as they can when they can so that the public can again be a multiplier effect in terms of eyes and ears. >> and john cohen also former counterterrorism official with the department of homeland security on the phone. it will be everything is on the table as pierre said, all hands on dex. right now they're are now they're going to comb through the security cameras in that

but they have such a wide area now to try to protect. >> that's right, george. in the days ahead the investigation will tell us more about the motive behind this. but right now the top priority for law enforcement and security officials is to identify and capture these individuals, prevent them from doing another attack, increasing security around lo locations that may represent a risk. i thought one of the newer facts that came out of the press conference besides what everybody else was saying was that this was potentially a government facility. that's potentially a very important piece of information that state and local government officials that work at this location. >> what would that tell you? >> that would suggest that the investigators are going to be looking at very carefully at whether this was targeted specifically because it had government personnel there, whether it's a domestic extremist organization or a foreign terrorist organization, the fact thought is

building could be potentially important in determining the moat. >> i have steve gomez, former fbi special agent as well. they said they're talking to the several hundred evacuated from the building. they could be the prime sources of information right now. >> so they're going to be getting all that information from those witnesses, as much as they can. and if these suspects had their faces covered and they did everything they could so they couldn't be identified, any little thing that those witnesses can provide, their physical description whether they were tall, short, big, whatever it is, even the color of their socks, whatever they can come up with is going to be very important. and as you can see, they're already looking for as much information from the public as possible. they put out the tip line. you know that they've got a number of people that are manning those tip lines right now, getting that information together and pushing that out to the investigators. but one thing i think that is very important is any kind of suspicious activity that may have occurred at that facility -- and i'm talking suspicious activity people maybe that are sitting in a car for a

this is days, maybe weeks ahead of time. they're going to be really focusing on that part of the investigation to try to see, did these guys do some kind of reconnaissance of the facility prior to this incident. >> george, you know, history has to be our guide in these situations. and people at home may be wondering why we keep qualifying. again, history is a guide. when the oklahoma city bombing took place many years ago there was a lot of speculation initially that it was international terrorism of some sort. perhaps some sort of islamic terrorism. it turned out to be domestic terrorism. and no one saw that coming initially. >> and then we heard there, brian ross, from the chief quite open about the fact that they basically know nothing. >> they just don't know. they made a clean getaway is what he's saying. three men came, heavily armed, on a mission. they killed 14, he says, 14 more injured, and they got away. they were on a mission. and as pierre says from the oklahoma city example, we know

it was the midwest in that case. so all options are open here. there are a number of hate groups around the country. we're told the los angeles police department now is protect sites that could be possible targets. >> they must do that. what we also heard from the chief, ray kelly, the active shooter protocol was put into effect as soon as they got that first 911 call. what does that mean exactly? have been trained. as i say, columbine changed a lot of things. lives. so officers responding have to enter that location as quickly as they reasonable can, rather team. and apparently that's i think that's what the chief was alluding to. >> brad garrett, we heard from one eyewitness that the suspects who were in the car started to leave and in a quite deliberate manner, relatively slowly.

they may have escaped the scene, they cowl uld have gotten quite far. >> somebody mentioned earlier they could be in mexico. yes. without, you know, something beyond the suv, did they find it? is there -- do they have witnesses of getting into another vehicle? all of those -- it's like the timeline of when they left to where they are now, that's all the pieces we appear to be missing. so that's really the key. can you put that together? so finding the suv really is a doing right now. >> i want to go to matt gutman back on the scene right now. you have some more information, matt? >> reporter: george, only that what we've continued to see officers and s.w.a.t. forces filing away from the scene. we believe that the officers really do think that that building, the i.r.c., has been cleared. what we do know from that press conference is that event was held in a bottom floor, that

shooting was confined to, at say. and that now they are fanning out as brian and pierre and everybody have been saying across this city, trying to find that dark-colored or black suv. government offices are still closed down. people told to shelter in place. and all of the 200 or so employees that we saw who were not injured, some of them were still crying, clearly shaken up after the ordeal they had been through. but all of them filing past here out of that building and to safety were instructed not to not family members and certainly not the press about what they saw and what they heard, george. >> so everyone you saw was told not to talk. but do you know if all the employees are in fact out? >> reporter: we believe that the living employees and the people who were not injured and the bodies are indeed out. that is what we are told. we've been in this corner for about an hour and we haven't seen anybody file past. authorities have been meticulously registering every one of those employees, taking

allowinging them to go to the rest room in that needed to. it has been hours since that shooting started they have been waiting in the hot sun or waiting sheltering in place inside the building to be extricated and extracted by those s.w.a.t. teams. since then it seems that they're all out at this point. the tone here has totally changed since when we got here about an hour and a half or two hours ago. at first we saw officers running, heavily armed with assault rifles, towards that scene. now people are sort of walking about. i think what is clear the officers believe that whatever happened inside that building, that shooting, the three men coming in, gunning down 14 people, injuring 14 others, that that either 1, 2 or 3 assailants that, those people have left and they're trying to look for them elsewhere. and that's why so much of this city is still on lockdown. i'm getting text messages from city officials in the courthouse who are still texting from inside their offices. they're not even allowed to use the phones.

that's how jittery the police officers are still here in san bernardino. george. >> with good reason right now, those shooters still on the loose. pierre thomas, we've heard from your justice department colleague mike lavigne, who also covers homeland security issues. the chief there said we have no information this is a terrorist situation. he said at minimum it is a domestic terrorist situation. he did not mean that in the technical sense of the word. because in justice department parlance that means something quite specific. >> exactly. that means some sort of political motivation is assigned to that. they don't know that to be the case. he's just talking about the theory clearly being fomented. >> they've scrambled tactical teams as a precautionary measure they're putting guards around planned parenthood locations in the los angeles area. >> colorado springs last friday attacked by a single gunman on the planned parenthood facility right there, ray kelli? >> this is purely speculation. but we know isis wants to goad

war in the middle east. and the theory is that they want to commit these horrendous acts to galvanize the feeling here to respond. now, these victims, i think many of them had special needs. so it's particularly outrageous this type of attack. an the fact that there's three individuals, i think obviously that has to be on the table. >> the most vulnerable in our society. but brian ross, of course you cover isis. you've covered terrorism for so many years. so far at least not only do we have the police chief saying we really have no information, the president saying we have no information, fbi officials saying we have no information. but so far nothing coming up on international chatter, anything on social media? >> not at all. we've been monitoring. we haven't seen that. don't forget it was a week ago today that the president told the american public there's no specific credible threat against the homeland from isis. and that was the current state of the information. that hasn't changed.

this would be a huge intelligence flaw. but at this point there's no indication whatsoever that it's isis. frankly, they don't know. there's no information whatsoever. >> none coming in. >> they're monitoring various hate groups that are in that part of california. they're looking at isis. they're looking at everything. as pierre said, everything is on the table. >> widest possible net right now. abc's kana whitworth at loma linda hospital on the scene. >> reporter: hey, george, we are at loma linda hospital about four miles away from the scene. it's one of the only level one trauma centers in the area. right now we have word they have received four adult patients here at loma linda hospital. and they have at least three more on the way, although that report they're saying there could be more. there could be less. but again, it's very close to the scene. and the only level one trauma center that they have here. the other thing i can tell you is that when we arrived on scene, the amount of security is unprecedented. there is the san bernardino

but also the union pacific railroad police have been called in to help. when i talked to them they said we're here to keep any potential target safe. so they're actually standing in the middle of the parking lot with their guns ready to go. so again, here at loma linda hospital, four confirmed adult patients. there's also another hospital in the area, arrowhead hospital, that has six confirmed patients right now. here at loma linda they do have family gathering in an area of the hospital, we're told that's where family members are sort of supposed to go, supposed to congregate there. that's where the information about their loved ones is flowing. that is an area of the hospital that is also heavily guarded by police. they're taking this very seriously, george. moment. a lot of information coming in. >> and kayna, as this started to unfold over the last three hours you were in the region as you were heading to the hospital, what kind of alerts could you tell the public was getting? >> reporter: you know, it's interesting.

closer to the scene, you have to drive along the highway. and they have certain exits on the highway completely blocked off. which in california traffic if you block off one exit you're talking about a major jam on the highway. so that's creating problems all throughout the city. then as you get closer and closer, they have a major radius around this area on completely blocked off by police officers. it was hard for even all of us in the crew here with abc to even find each other to even get there. and then there are people around the area. there's a hotel right across. and there are people there that are in the hotel. when i walked in they were kind of working, doing their normal things. so it's like people are getting alerts. they're being told to stay away. but they're also -- there was a calmness by the time i arrived. but that was a few hours later. and it was about a mile away from the scene as well. so i can tell you that they're definitely keeping people far away. they're telling people beginning to shelter in place and not letting anybody get anywhere close.

possibly three suspects on the loose. kayna whitworth, thanks very much. and pierre, listening to that, los angeles -- the entire los angeles region so dependent on its highways. this could create ripple effects across southern california. >> exactly. so many factors that have to be considered here. and i'm just getting word from senior officials in washington, the homeland security secretary, jeh johnson, fully engaged on this. the attorney general fully engaged. right now this is the highest priority of law enforcement in the entire country and their treating it like that. >> it's got to be. potentially three active shooters on the loose in southern california after killing 14 people at the center, 14 injured, and no one has any idea what's driving this event. >> and what the concern is that their mission is far from complete. they are hoefly armed, they are well-prepared, this was a plot obviously that did not occur on the spur of the moment.

with the ability to get a clean getaway before the police caught up with them. simply they don't know where they are or who they are. >> and one of the things we learned after those paris attacks more than two weeks ago now far more preparation, guidance, direction went into this than was initially believed. >> you have to call this a plot of some kind. and for my money that's a kind of terrorism. somebody planned this for whatever reason, whatever motive. >> want to go back to kabc, the mayor of san bernardino on kabc right now. >> transportation authority, and that's when i received the message. as soon as i received it i left that meeting which is held in the sante fe depot, then i headed directly to the city hall. and then got communication as soon as i could with p.d. to make sure that i was informed and made sure that we took whatever necessary steps. i've had some contact with some of the local other facilities, the college, cal state

within our superintendent of