i'll now have dave bodich, assistant director of the fbi say a few words. >> thank you, sheriff. the fbi is here with our state the fbi is here with our state and local partners as well as our partners from the atf. we are here to assure that all the wounded are extracted, and ultimately, public safety is the number one goal at this point. and 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 our local partners. we take the presumption that it may be, 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 will have go and

there are no steps lost as the investigation proceeds. at this point, i'm going to turn 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 that is is a human inciden it's a tragedy, and a lot of folks are very worried about their loves ones who may have been at that facility. we set up an area at the area of 3rd and sierra way for family members to go for investigation. we will push information out as we can. also the sheriff's department put out the crime tip hotline number. we'd very much like to hear from you. with that, i'll take a couple questions. [ inaudible question ] i don't. i've heard everything, that it

was a meeting, to a potential -- like a lunch-type gathering, maybe for the holidays. that's not confirmed. that is very preliminary. my understanding that most of the people that were wounded, most of the victims were all centrally located in one area of the facility. [ inaudible question ] in terms of the employees, it's my understanding the facility has both state and county employees as well as folks that work for a number of organizations. the inland regional center serves 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 question ] i do not have any information on anyone involved. >> can you characterize this as

an organized event? >> preliminary information indicates these people who came prepared. they were dressed and equipped in a way to indicate they were prepare e prepared. [ inaudible question ] i don't know. we do not have any weapons recovered at this point. sorry. [ inaudible question ] the preliminary number we have right now is that there are 14 people that are deceased, and our count is another 14 people that are taken to various hospitals for significant injuries, potentially related to gunshots. 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. roughly about 14 that we believe are wounded.

we're not that far into the investigation yet. [ inaudible question ] the whole thing? i think -- >> don't worry about it. [ inaudible question ] i think that that could be a possibility, yes. i don't think we're comfortable saying no at this point. >> have the bomb detectives recovered anything that is or looks like an ied? >> as the teams are searching for suspects and victims, there are 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 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 they were bombs of any sort. just things that as our teams were moving through, that needs to be looked at more closely. [ inaudible question ] i don't have any information on that.

[ inaudible question ] have you found any vehicles you believe are related? >> not that i know of at this point. >> did the gunman say anything? >> we don't have anything specific from those witnesses. we're at the early stages of talking to them. this is the only active scene that we're working. that is part of the investigation. i just don't have that at this point. >> can you talk about the suspects' vehicle, the darker suv? >> it's all we have. very generic. upwards of three suspects. darker suv. i never heard camouflage. i have repeatedly been told the number is three. this is information that's going in. people are talking to witnesses very quickly. as we put another thing together, we know these are fluid situations. some of the information we put out now may change a little bit in the future.

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, but we don't have any information or any credible threats to any other facilities at this point. but obviously, we're all on a heightened sense of alert. we would ask the public that they be on a heightened sense of alert, that they're watching out for those things. and if they come across information, contact us and let us investigate it. [ inaudible question ] i put out what i have. 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 right now? >> yes. not going to talk about it. [ inaudible question ] 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 now.

>> i just want to say thank you to your entire agency, all the chiefs, everything, i appreciate that. >> thank you very much. a few minutes. [ inaudible question ] well, 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. [ inaudible question ] we do not know where the suspects are. >> how is the fbi getting involved? does somebody that represents them maybe want to talk? >> we know historically that some of these investigations can turn into a potentially 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're an active part of the investigation. in addition to that, being from the federal government, they bring to the table tremendous resources to help us in doing our job. >> 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. [ inaudible question ] >> we don't. >> the only thing i'm comfortable saying at this point is the information they have is they came prepared to do what they did as if they were on a mission. >> how long were they inside shooting? >> i don't know specifically. several minutes.

the officers have not engaged or exchanged gunfire with anybody, but we don't know if they were on scene when we arrived. >> i don't know if you covered this or not, but were the vast majority of the dead and wounded in one centralized location? >> yes, in the same general area of the facility. >> making an assumption -- i'm sorry if it's an assumption here, chief, that they had targeted that particular room, those particular people? >> i thinke'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 they held in a room? was this a shootout? >> we don't have any information that they took any hostages. [ inaudible question [ inaudible question ] >> long guns is what i've been told. there are people that speculate what type of long guns. i'm just going to say it was a long gun, not a handgun. >> rifle or shotgun? [ inaudible question ] >> they came in with a purpose. they came in with the intent to do something. >> was there any threat to this

facility prior to that? >> 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. >> top of the hour? >> at the top of the hour is fine. thank you. >> we've been listening to jarrod burguan, the police chief in san bernardino, california, updating us with what they know and the headline here, up to 14 dead, 14 people injured in that facility in san bernardino today. up to three shooters who are presumed to have fled. at this point, they presume they have fled. a chilling remark at the end. he said they came prepared as if they were on a mission. the fbi saying they do not know if this is terrorism. the chief noting that

ultimately, it is, and whether it's the kind we tend to think of or domestic terrorism, certainly a horrible loss of life here. the suspects could have gotten away in an suv. they have put a lookout for a dark-colored suv. these men apparently marched into a meeting of some kind that was going on. he wasn't sure if it was some kind of a holiday get-together or what have you, but all the victims were shot in a central part of one of the buildings on this facility. the inwood regional center is part of the developmental disability center. it's government workers, state and county workers. as a result of this, there have been security precautions taken on other government buildings in the area as well as hospitals. the area still very much on high alert because of the many unknowns on this attack. there's a live view, just another building i believe to the left of the facility where this took place.

in fact, as the camera widens out -- well, i'm not quite sure where it is. but i believe it's just to the -- above it there. just above it is the facility where this took place. let's go to tom costello watching along with us. tom, what do you have? >> i think yet again, leicests this country is dealing with mass murder. 14 dead, 14 injured. his point was at a minimum, this is a domestic terror. so this is terrorism in some fashion. what we don't know is whether there is a nexus to foreign players in any way. or foreign actors in any way involved in this, or a foreign state or a foreign terrorist organization involved. we simply don't know. also interesting that he reiterated that point from the very earliest calls to police, there were witnesses who said there may be as many as three individuals who are involved in this mass shooting and the police chief saying still now at what is now -- it's 1:30 or so

on the west coast -- 2:30 on the west coast, pardon me. they're going on the assumption they still have three suspects on the loose. nearly three hours after this incident first went down, they are still going on the assumption of nearly three different suspects on the loose. the faa has put flight restrictions in place over this particular area as they try to work their police choppers to look for the suspect, and also ask the media to back off and give them as much space as possible. and i think it's also important to take note that they are still trying to answer the question of who was involved, and is there more than one vehicle? as we've been reporting, they have been looking for one vehicle, that black suv described by some as a possible uconn seen leaving the area e i leaving the scene with three suspects involved. in my experience, covering quite a few mass casualty and mass shooting incidents, this is

unusual in that three hours later, we are still looking for the perpetrators, and that there may be as many as three on the loose. and this will go down as an unusual situation. >> something that may have slipped by very quickly in that news conference, one of the reporters asked the chief, are you pursuing any active leads? and he kind of paused and said, yes, and i don't want to go any further than that. so perhaps a hint that they at least have something to go on in the search. but we heard certainly not comforting from the standpoint of i think the takeaway, not only the horrible loss of life and injured here, tom, is that this is still ongoing. that there is still a clear and present danger. schools are on lockdown. government buildings are being protected. hospitals are being protected. three people who the chief says came prepared as if they were on a mission are still on the loose. >> a mass killer or mass killers are on the loose. that is a terrifying statement,

but it is from the mouth of the police chief in san bernardino, california. they are looking for right now whoever is responsible for this, whoever gunned down we believe up to 28 people with 14 dead at this hour. >> all right. tom, thanks very much. you're watching continuing coverage on nbc news of a mass shooting in san bernardino, california. some stations are going to return to regular programming. for others, nbc news coverage continues in just a second. >> and there's a scene live over san bernardino, california. we continue to cover the mass shooting there today. and we learned within the last few minutes that 14 people are dead. 14 injured. and police are on the lookout for up to three suspects who burst into one of the buildings at the inwood regional center, a state and county facility and opened fire in a central part of one of the buildings. three suspects who they believe may have fled in a dark colored

suv. no identification on the shooters. there is no motive. federal officials and fbi representatives on the scene say obviously everyone wants to know is this terrorism, and he simply said, i don't know. the police chief saying the shooters came prepared, as if they were on a mission. some reports that they were wearing masks. the police chief acknowledged that, but couldn't say for sure, and was not able to say whether the suspect said anything, as to whether they had active leads they are pursuing, the chief said yes. in terms of a possible motive, again, that remains a huge mystery here. the police still going through the building, trying to make sure that everything is secure. secondary searches. their belief is that the shooters in this case may have gotten away, and for that reason, and because of the lack of specificity as to what to motive might have been, they have locked down schools.

they have put up extra security in front of hospitals, in front of other government buildings in the area. this regional center is part of a department of disabilities and developmental disabilities. there are some clients who come there. there are apparently state workers and county workers. several hundred people work there. the vast majority of them we saw play out earlier were actually evacuated safely on to a golf course. and eventually away from the area. but again, we know up to 14 dead and 14 injured. some of those injured were whisked to safety in civilian vehicles that were taken out away from the scene of the shooting. they were triaged right there in the street and loaded on to ambulances as quickly as they could get the them to the proper facilities for treatment. we don't have conditions on those who were treated. we talked to folks at the loma linda medical center. at one point, they had received four adults, expecting three

more, but they were not able to provide an update on the conditions. as far as the police chief, there are no children among those who were injured or killed. let's listen in now to the coverage on knbc, our station in los angeles. >> we had heard earlier that the ceo of the regional center said her understanding was that the gunman targeted a conference area where there were a number of employees. that was not confirmed by the police chief, but that is something that she had reported that her understanding was it was sort of a conference area with adult employees. >> there's also been the suggestion that this is the large facility and some of these rooms, in fact, are leased out or rented out to particular groups. there may or may not have been a job fair out there today. the numbers, 14 people dead. we're not getting any descriptions or any names on who they might be, other than the fact that they are not children. at least 14 people hurt. four patients already at loma

linda. patrick healy said he saw the traffic coming and going. >> we know lake arrowhead regional also taking patients there. it's been a very fluid situation, as we have seen throughout the morning. some patients being triaged in front of the regional center and then transported to the hospital. the chief mentioned that some obviously suffered very severe injuries. others were injured in the rush to get out of that building. and alex vazquez, our nbc 4 photographer told us that at least six people were piled in to a pickup truck. in fact, this is a shot of that pickup truck right after the shooting started. these six victims were simply put in the back and shuttled to safety because the first responders hadn't yet made it to the scene. that's how quickly this all unfolded this morning. just after 11:04, the first reports of shots fired coming in. let's listen in. >> he's in there, his brother. if you see this, ryan, call me, let me know that you and your brother are okay, so i can get

word back to the family. everybody's worried about you guys out there. >> so difficult. awaiting word from loved ones. some families were luckier than others in being able to receive text messages from those trapped inside. people were able to get outside and make it to safety. but still a number of people trying to reunite with their relatives. >> you know, with all that has happened in the world, a lot of people jumped to the conclusion or want to know immediately if this was, in fact, a terrorist act committed by one of the overseas groups. as we heard from the chief, they have not made that connection. but this is some sort of domestic terrorism. we saw the shooting in colorado last week, colorado springs at the planned parenthood. we saw what happened in oregon at the college a couple months ago. it does change the way we view is world and how we live our lives on a daily basis. the other thing that struck me

when i heard the chief speak. he said we train for active shooters every day. but in your heart of hearts, even though you train for that and you're a police officer, you can't imagine it, i would assume, happening the way it does in your own backyard. >> yes, and unfolding like this with so many casualties. there's a rather controversial mass shooting tracker that's been put together by reddit that talks about in the past 336 days, we have now seen 355 mass shootings. the way they quantify a mass shooting, is four or more people including the gunman killed or injured by gunfire. so based on the numbers we have here, this is the second mass shooting of today and bringing us to 355 mass shootings. >> we've been listening in on knbc's coverage of this ongoing breaking situation. 14 dead, 14 injured in the shooting at the inwood regional center, a developmental disabilities center in san bernardino, california. you can imagine the horror, not only of those who were inside the building when this took

place, but also their loved ones and people who knew folks in there when they got word of this, and we heard from some of them just a short time ago. >> i'm really scared for my sister. >> did she tell you what happened inside? >> she just said there was a shooting. she's scared. she's hiding in the closet. >> it's terrible. it's terrible. i have no words to describe it. >> your sister is in there? >> well, she works there. i haven't been able to contact her. >> how frightening is this? >> a lot. >> my daughter is out of the building and she's safe. >> you just got the call? >> yeah. >> how are you feeling right now? >> relieved. but sad for the others. >> she was whispering because she didn't want to be heard. she didn't want anyone to hear her. they were outside of the home. she turned off the lights, or someone turned off the lights and locked the door. that's all that i know. that's all that she told me. and then we stopped talking

because i didn't want her to talk anymore. >> what a helpless feeling, to be in contact with your loved ones, you can't get to them, and they are in this desperate situation with a gunman opening fire. all the gunfire apparently in a centralized part of one building, in the multiple building complex. let me bring in clint van sazani guess it's natural for us to want to categorize these things. the fact is, 14 people are dead, and no matter what you call it, that reality is inescapable. but when we hear three people who as the police chief said came prepared as if they were on a megission, and we hear those three people are still out there, where does that take you as a former law enforcement officer? >> well, you know, investigators are investigating this right now, lester. the media is left to speculate. as we start to connect these dots from what we've heard from

law enforcement in a press conference and the confirmation coming in, it appears that all the shooting took place in the same location in these three different buildings that were connected that have about 650 or more employees. we also heard from law enforcement that at may have been in a conference room where there was some type of meeting or luncheon going on. should those facts prove to be correct, it would sound like the shooter or the shooters went right to that conference room. in essence, they may have targeted somebody in that room or the purpose for that room. that's what investigators and detectives, that's what they're trying to do right now. find out if that specific group was, in fact, targeted because then that gives them a lead. who would have had some reason, some type of malice to go after to commit a controversial

atrocity like this, whether it's domestic terrorism, some frustrated fired employee, that he or they were able to assemble three people, weapons, body armor, and put together this plan, chief of police is right. these are at least one to three people who came in with a purpose and that purpose was mass murder. >> he was unable to say whether the suspects said anything, but given the number of people who were there, he did note that they do have active leads. is it possible that something was said that might imply a motive, that would give them something to follow up on? >> i think it's likely, if it was anything related to the group, or related to the people in the room, and one to three shooters, someone likely would have said something or someone in the room might have either recognized a shooter by his face, or if they had masks on,

as we're told, maybe recognize the shooter by their build or something that was said or murmured within that room. those are things right now that hundreds of law enforcement officers all over that area of california are trying to identify. if the chief is right, they have leads, not only on the vehicle description that tom costello told us about that was being put all over the area, but they may have an idea of a suspect or suspects in this case, too. they may not want to show their hand, but hopefully, there are dozens of law enforcement officers moving in every direction and every lead, while at the same time, we're administering to the injured. feeling so bad for the dead. and we're trying to develop further information to help us identify who the shooter was. and again, lester, as you well know from the reporting that's been done, this is almost 400

people this year that have been killed in america in mass shootings. whatever type of terrorism we call this, this is an unacceptable level of violence that this country has got to get a handle on. i don't care what your political affiliation. we have to find a way to stop these copycats, to limit weapons, to deal with mental health situations. this calls for america to come together and not be divided on a situation like this. >> if this was it turns out to be a random target, that this place was hit for no other reason than it had a lot of people in it, as law enforcement, do you have to be concerned about a second attack, a second location that could be targeted? >> well, with the chief telling us that these individuals appear to have come to this location with a purpose, that is probably their ultimate purpose. in essence, they may well be surprised that they were even able to escape the area at this

time. and again, as you rightfully said, law enforcement is still searching these three massive buildings in the areas around. but right now, i think the biggest challenge is going to be if the shooter or shooters escaped, it's going to be when those law enforcement officers have to confront these shooters and deal with them. this is going to be a tremendous threat to law enforcement, and unfortunately, it does continue to be a threat for the public until the shooters are found. >> all right, clint van zandt, thank you. we'll be checking back with you. we want to go to the scene now. nbc's miguel almaguer is there. describe the scene and what you've learned so far, miguel. >> reporter: lester, still a very active scene. as a matter of fact, we just saw more police officers driving down this road. there was also a large bus that looked like it could be transferring folks who are down at the crime scene out of this area. police helicopters are still overhead. certainly just a short time ago, we saw bomb squad members coming into this area.

it's difficult to hear what is happening behind us, because we're somewhat of a distance away, but certainly a very active scene. police with their rifles, their long guns are out here as well as several people who are looking for any information about friends or family members that may have been involved in this incident. we also know at nearby hospitals, there are several people who are gathering. ambulances rushing in and out. it does appear the numbers may change. as you know right now, lester, reports that there are 14 people dead, another 14 injured, as police search for three suspects in this area. >> have you seen any indication of police actually leaving the scene to join the hunt? >> reporter: we're about two blocks away from where the incident actually took place. from our vantage point, the roads are blocked off a few blocks in the other direction, but police are continuing to come into this area. we have heard reports that there is police activity all across this region at this very hour, but here, it seems as though investigators are still arriving on scene. we have heard over 100 police officers here at this location

alone. so we haven't seen many officers scrambling out of this area, but we do know at this hour, there is certainly a manhunt going on all across this region. >> i'm sure it's very tense there. we had seen earlier a lot of people who had been rescued from inside, who had been evacuated. have they been taken from the area now? >> reporter: it appears to have been. there are three local hospitals that are relatively close to this area. we have heard the sirens leaving this area. some of our network correspondents and producers that are fanned out across this region are reporting in. family members are arriving there. they are seeing activity. they are seeing police cars arriving at those locations, so this does seem to be -- even though it's been a few hours since this incident, a very fluid situation. as a matter of fact, just behind me now, moving in the direction off screen here, we saw three balances just pull out of this area, so it's still very active here. >> and we note that the police chief noted those casualty figures are what they have now

and they are subject to change. thanks very much. i want to go to our los angeles bureau. andrew blanksteen is an nbc news investigative producer. i know you've been working the phones and your sources. what are you hearing? >> i think one of the key things i'm hearing, especially as we look across the five-county area, because we have suspects that are being sought, is the information about who these people are. the question about whether to go public or keep it close to the vest is always a tough call for law enforcement. and as the hours pass, sometimes police hold that back. but you want the public involved to try to get some of these folks. there just hasn't been a lot of information on that account. >> are you getting any sense that police believe there's a continuing danger here? >> you know, i get it from folks that are kind of outside the immediate san bernardino area. i think there's a need for more information that people want. and as every hour passes, we do

get in a situation where people can change vehicles, they can get further away, and that concerns a lot of law enforcement in the area. >> and we heard that this was kind of an all hands on deck response from law enforcement. is this something that law enforcement in southern california kind of practiced as much like fire agencies do? >> there's a practice, and then there's a practicality. a couple years ago with the christopher dorner case, the ex-lapd officer who committed two murders and then shot law enforcement officers while he was on the run across the area. that was kind of ten days that kind of gripped the area, where law enforcement was actively searching for him. and so it ended up in -- the shootout in the mountains. so obviously, as time goes on, they're concerned that where are these suspects? as you know, early on, there's lots of conflicting information. we saw that in the l.a.x.

shooting also in 2013, where there were initial reports of multiple suspects. it ended up that there was one suspect. the amount of information, especially now that you throw social media into that, they have to check out leads, but sometimes that might change direction in a way that they don't want. >> all right. andrew blankstein, thank you very much. we'll be checking back with you. we're rounding the bottom of the hour now. if you're just joining us, and perhaps you've read the tweets or heard news alerts about this and you're just getting settled in, let's bring you quickly up to speed. about 11:00 this morning pacific time at a regional center for develop m developmental disabilities, as many as three gunmen burst into a building into a room and opened fire. the latest casualty numbers we have, up to 14 dead, at least 14 people injured, being treated at

hospitals right now. the three gunmen, if it was as many as three, are presumed to escape, although s.w.a.t. teams have been securing room by room, the rooms in this facility. the shooters presumed to have escaped, possibly in a black suv that is now the subject of an intense hunt in southern california. this all taking place about an hour and a half drive east of los angeles. the entire region right now on alert. there's the bolo, be on the lookout alert for that black suv. there's the number that authorities have given out for anyone that may have information about the shootings. the police chief in a news conference a while ago acknowledged they do have active leads in the hunt, and here's what he told us a bit earlier. >> 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. they came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission. >> jarrod burguan, the police

chief there in san bernardino, california. and he has been joined by the fbi along with the atf, the fbi also saying they don't know if this is terrorism in the way that many of us tend to define it. but certainly that is at the top of the investigation as they try to figure out a motive, and thereby figure out if there is further danger, an imminent danger from these individuals who may have been a part of this. the early reports were that one of the individuals or all of them may have been in body armor, or tactical gear. but as the chief noted, these were people who were prepared as if they were on a mission. i think that speaks to the sense that they knew where they were going and what they wanted to do. so these are some of the earlier pictures of the wounded who were being taken out of the line of fire and to a place they could get first aid, and then shuttled off to various hospitals.

again, 14 injured. there is no listing of conditions right now. only the number of people all believed to be adults who were taken to various hospitals there in southern california. the region very much on alert in the san bernardino area. we're told that hospitals, other government buildings, city hall, courts, that sort of thing are essentially under lockdown, or under a heightened security as they try to figure out if there's an ongoing threat, and whether this can potentially be targeted at government. they simply don't know right now. but a pretty impressive task force of law enforcement now on the scene trying to figure out who these individuals might have been and what they wanted and what triggered this apparently planned and assault on this facility. this is a place apparently a lot of state workers or a lot of county workers, other agencies

under the umbrella of the developmental disabilities board there in california, we're told that sometimes there are clients. people who are afflicted with developmental disabilities can be on site. we don't have a breakdown of who may be dead or injured. we were also told there were a number of people who were not evacuated, but they were sheltered in other buildings on that complex. police knew where they were, preferred them to stay there while they continued to work other parts of the facility, trying to find the suspects themselves. the sheriff again saying no i.d., no motive on the individuals. and we saw one of the local schools nearby that was in lockdown, although we're getting to that time of day that schools would be let out. we're not sure whether that will happen and how long that lockdown situation will continue. but this is some of the crowd we believe from the center itself.

people who came out may not have been in the direct area of the shooting, but many of them heard the shots. not sure exactly what was going on, what they were hearing, but instructed to get out. and escorted across the street to safety. police vehicles, helicopters responding. they've asked news media and other helicopters to leave the area as they continue to do their work. you know, protecting their tactical movements as they go through that building. they are still largely acting as if there is a threat, but it seemed clear from the news conference that they believe the shooter or shooters are able to escape. as far as the dead, unclear whether all of them are inside the facility or whether some might be outside, and that may be also have to do with them not wanting helicopters over the scene. we're not positive on that.

there you see. up to three shooters. clint van zandt joins us right now. we were talking about how they prepared as if they were on a mission, and what you can read into that. we tend to see these domestic terrorism things as someone who has a very specific grudge, and generally one person with a specific grudge. rarely, outside of international terrorism do we see a number of individuals. what stands out here to you? >> i think you're right, lester. the challenge is, many times, we'll have one person. whether it be an individual with mental health condition, or whether he or she was terminated from a job. whatever it may be, that's where we see these so called lone wolves, because it's very hard to get one or two other people to adopt your cause. and especially in this case, to go out and commit mass murder

and maybe put your life on the line. when we see something like that, it's usually individuals that are -- that have some type of long-term relationship. we've seen brothers and significant others that would work something like this together. but just to go out and pick two other people that you know and say hey, you know, i'm going to commit mass murder today, i need your help. of course, the vast majority of people are going to say no. that's the challenge for law enforcement, is what mission, what motive would inspire not one, not two, but perhaps three people to come together, assemble the uniforms, the weapons, the vehicles, to come up with a targeting information, if, in fact, it was directed at a specific group in this conference center, and then go in and commit this act and still be able to escape. perhaps to up to three different locations. that's the frustration for law

enforcement right now. >> yeah. the threat that maybe they have split apart, clint. let me bring in our justice correspondent pete williams in our washington newsroom. you've been working the phones and your sources. what are you hearing, pete? >> obviously the most important thing now is to try to figure out who these people were. they're following a number of leads right now. some of which they don't want made public. let me tell you some of the other things that they are doing. they're scouring the area for surveillance video, from cameras near the scene. they'll be looking for any glimpse of what they believe was the getaway car, this dark suv. they'll look for a video that might show it either arriving or leaving the scene, and they'll hope that they can maybe get a license plate number off or a better description of the vehicle. they're obviously interviewing the people who were inside the building, trying to develop a better description of what the gunmen looked like, and any other clues that the witnesses could provide them. did the gunmen s anything? what did their voices sound like? what were they wearing?

that can all be important information. they're looking through social media. they're looking for any indication that the gunmen themselves may have discussed their attack in advance. they're looking for any threatening messages that may have been addressed against that building that was the focus of the attack today in san bernardino. they're looking at their own threat streams that they've had the last hours and days, because local police, fbi, they get these threats all the time of people calling in to say they've heard something is beginning to happ -- going to happen. it's not unusual that they've had threats in the l.a. area. they'll look back at those again. all that's happening now. >> let's listen now to the mayor of san bernardino, he's on knbc. >> our sheriff's department also, they've done a great job of harnessing the resources that they can. we have other agencies that are assisting and aiding. i appreciate all the offers that

we've received from the state and county level that have been here on scene, make sure that the area is secure and we're in contact with the other major facilities we have in our community, make sure that they're staying on top and they're keeping their particular facilities safe and secure, so they have done that. we've been in touch with the superintendent of schools, our cal state president, as well as our community college and they are all monitoring the situation, making sure that they take whatever protocols are necessary to make sure that their facilities are maintained and kept safe. >> what do you want the fine people of san bernardino, their constituents to know about what's happening with the response and finding these people? >> well, i can't say too much more about that. that information needs to stay secure. as long as it's an open investigation, we have to rely upon p.d., as well as our sheriff and fbi is here also to provide and give us their support. our community comes together at these times. they have this the past.

i'm very grateful and expect that they will do the same thing. we want them to stay away from the area. we want them to know to be cautious and look out for any suspicious activity and report that as it's been indicated earlier to the tip lines so that they'll have all the information to help them to move as quickly as possible at apprehending the suspect. >> i know this has been very hard on you, being the mayor here and trying to resurrect the city that has seen so much other violence and firefighters and police officers asking for help because of the economy. how is it in your eyes now that you're going to have to deal with this huge tragedy, this human tragedy up on that? so much is on your shoulders now. >> i do believe that our council together with the staff that we have will coming to and make the necessary changes to ensure that the community continues on that rise that we have been on. bankruptcy certainly is one of the things that keeps us in the

press. we are making progress. i think that that will help to bring the city back into more economic and viable community. certainly this adds a dimension of something we'll have to deal with. san bernardino is very resilient. we will recover from this and we will do the best that we can to make sure that our community continues to stay safe. >> you know, you're going to have to probably leave the scene and face a very difficult scene. i'm sure you're going to be visiting victims' family members. how are you preparing for that? >> well, as any tragedy like this, we rely upon that higher source that gives us that comfort. and i would just encourage those who are going through this to draw upon that faith that they have, that we'll be able to comfort them during this very tragic time, their families are going to be impacted. it's something they'll be dealing with for the rest of their lives. our thoughts and prayers go out to them. we're certainly mourning with

them at this particular time. >> thank you, mary carey davmay. >> this city is dealing with this horrible loss of life. 14 dead, 14 injured, and the risk that the shooter or shooters are still at large. let's go to nbc's blake mccoy. he is there on the scene in san bernardino. what do you have? >> reporter: we're waiting for another official update from authorities. we have been promise ed an upda on the hour. right now the focus is clearing whoever is left inside that building. of course, the search for those suspects. we're hearing possibly three suspects. that's the assumption they're working off of. i can tell you this entire area around this facility has been blocked off. law enforcement agencies from across the region have come in to assist in blocking off this area. but it's now been more than three hours since this shooting, so if the shooters really did

escape in a dark colored suv like authorities believe they did, they could be anywhere at this point. >> all right, blake, thanks very much. we want to go to ron allen of the white house. we have almost come to expect to hear from the president at times like this. he was incidentally being interviewed today and had some comments. what did he say? >> reporter: exactly, lester. i think we may hear from the president later, but at this point, things are so unsettled there, he's monitoring events, being briefed on what's happening out there. but yes, he was doing an interview with cbs news, our colleagues, in the moments after the shooting happened. hear some of what he had to say, not knowing a lot about the detail just yet. >> my hope is that we're able to contain this particular shooting and we don't yet know what the motives of the shooters are. but what we do know is that there are steps we can take to make americans safer, and that we should come together in a bipartisan basis at every level

of government to make these rare as opposed to normal. we should never think that this is something that just happens in the ordinary course of events because it doesn't happen with the same frequency in other countries. >> reporter: the president very concerned about what he says is a pattern. san bernardino, colorado, oregon, south carolina. these mass shootings. the president has been trying to push for what he calls common sense gun safety legislation, but he's been thwarted by the congress. he also said in that interview that it's incumbent on state and local governments to step forward and do something. just yesterday, he was in paris attending a global summit on climate change. he was asked about the situation at the planned parenthood facility and he compared how much effort is put into combatting terrorism and how little, as he sees it, is put into combatting gun violence in the united states, which he insists claims many more lives

in america. so that parallel -- again, we don't know if we're going to hear from the president this evening. i'm sure that they're waiting for events to unfold. it's still unclear exactly what happened there, whether this was terrorism, domestic terrorism, international terrorism, or a mass shooting of some sort involving some domestic issue. who knows what at this point tragically. the president monitoring events, trying to keep tabs on what's going on, and we may hear from him later on. >> all right, ron, thanks very much. as we wait to hear from police there in san bernardino with another promised update, we want to let you know that house speaker paul ryan at the lighting of the capitol christmas tree made some comments about the events in california a short time ago. let's listen to that. >> before i begin, i just want to say that we are all thinking about the current and ongoing tragedy in california today. and i would like to have a brief moment of silence now for those

who are affected. please keep the victims and their families in your prayers right now. >> congressman paul ryan just a short time ago at the scheduled lighting of the capitol christmas tree, calling for that moment of silence there as washington and the rest of the country frankly waits to find out exactly how and what happened at that developmental disabilities center in san bernardino today. we know that 14 people are dead, 14 people injured there. but we know little else about the motivation of the shooter, or as it turns out possibly shooters. as many as three people, the police chief telling us were involved in this, and seem to be on a mission, seem to be well-prepared for this shooting attack. there are the grim numbers.

the police chief did note that those numbers could change as they get a better handle on the situation there. they have been making their way through those buildings, clearing them, doing secondary searches, making sure there were no devices left behind of an explosive nature. the usual things you would expect on the heels of this. many of the people from those buildings safely evacuated, taken now away from the scene in school buses. but perhaps 100 or more police remain on the scene there, even as other locations are being either locked down or under heavier locations, government places, courts and city halls, and hospitals noted as well, places that are being carefully watched right now. as to what they know about the shooters in that last update, police being tight-lipped noting that they do have active leads, but stopping at that, and saying we don't want to further discuss

that. but that at least offers a glimmer of hope that they know who they're looking for or at least have a trail that they can follow. they have put a be on the lookout bulletin for a dark-colored suv. there's the description, just a black suv, possibly a yukon. they put this phone number up. 1-866-346-7632 is the number people can call with information. now, whether one left in that vehicle or three may have been involved and split up, that remains a possibility as well. you can imagine the chaotic rush to the scene for police, and the possibility of someone not making their escape during that, that may very well be what happened here. much of southern california right now on alert, on the lookout for potentially three shooters who were involved in this. pete williams, our justice correspondent continues to

follow in washington, d.c. what do you have, pete? >> the most important thing now is to try to find that suv. they've got lots of officers in the area, looking for anything that matches that description, pulling them over. that remains the focus right now to try to find out if they can get a glimpse, to find some indication and pull it over and stop it. even if it's empty, that would be valuable information. that would be a huge break to try to trace it back, look for fingerprint evidence, were any weapons left behind, all that kind of thing. so that's the main focus right now, lester. >> all right, pete. in terms of -- we heard the police and the fbi discuss the possibility is this terrorism, domestic or otherwise. what does that trigger right now in washington, d.c., where i think like everywhere else, everyone's been on a heightened sense of anxiety since paris? >> three things about that, lester. number one is, as strictly law enforcement, if the decision is

made that it's domestic terrorism, the fbi automatically takes the lead. the fact that the lead is still the local authorities tells you that no conclusion is made about that. and then, of course, obviously, if it is considered domestic terrorism, the nationwide alert will go out telling the police that this has happened and they should be extra vigilant to things like that in their area. i will say this. nobody that i've talked to knows who these people are or has even a clue who they are. so there's no confidence that they know what the motive was. having said that, everybody i've talked to back here says it doesn't seem like terrorism. it doesn't seem to have any of the hallmarks. the target would seem an odd one. there was no statement, no yelling of any phrases like we've heard so often in other attacks like the ones in paris. nothing to indicate that it was terrorism. they can't say it wasn't, but

everybody i've talked to, all the intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies back here that are following this say there's no reason to think that it is. >> and if the reports are true that these individuals were equipped with body armor, and the least police saying they were prepared for what they were going to do, that leads to the conclusion that they intended an escape. so as they try to seek out a motive, does that help? >> i don't know that it does. and the other thing is so often people wear body armor in these active shooter situations without really thinking of what the end game is. so these people obviously did. another thing to think about here, lester, and another avenue that the authorities will look at is, you have to remember how unusual this is. it's unusual in so many different respects. a, more than one gunman in an active shooter situation. that's just so unusual. two, they got in and out so quickly.

the thought is they must have been familiar with that building. that implies that they had been in there before. so they're going to look and talk to people, have you seen people that look like this in that building in the last couple of weeks? did they look familiar to you? is there any reason to think that they might have been in there -- is there any reason to think at least some of them at some point -- because they seemed to get in and out so quickly and not just wandering around. so that can be a piece of information as well. >> i would think there would have to be in terms of questioning people who were there, if there had been any ongoing disputes, or disgruntled people. >> right. who's got a grudge? >> that's the kind of things that would produce leads very quickly, i would think. >> yes. undoubtedly, it's clear that there are leads that they're running down based on that. how productive they'll be, who knows. they'll be chasing a lot of leads here. most of them won't lead to the bad guys. >> all right, pete. let's go to blake mccoy. he's on the scene in san

bernardino. do you get the situation that they're standing down now, at least from the active shooter type alert? >> reporter: we do get that feeling. we're about two blocks away from the regional center right now. we just saw four more school buses brooiught down there. that would indicate they're not on high alert like they were several hours ago, lester. >> are members of the public there or any of the evacuees, or is it now pretty much first responders and press. >> reporter: they prech cletty cleared everyone out. people are still on lockdown. other businesses, they are still on lockdown at this point. >> and i thought i understood the police chief to say he would be getting hourly updates. do we expect another one soon? >> reporter: we should be expecting one in about three minutes. of course, they have their hands full searching for possibly three shooters who got away in a

black suv. that time, three minutes from now, may shift a little bit if they're in the middle of something. >> all right, blake, thanks. pete, what's the fib role hebi now? are they observing or part of the active investigation? >> they'll be very much an active part of the investigation. the way these things work, is the fbi and the atf will take their direction from the local authorities. they're there to help at this point. they're not in charge. there's a lot of things they can do. and they have a lot of things they have experience in. one of the things that has to happen here, we've got basically two parallel investigations right now. one is outside that building, trying to find these people before they can shoot anyone else, get them arrested, and bring them to justice. secondly, valuable evidence is inside that building. so there has to be evidence technicians that get to the scene, and they have to now start to reconstruct how the shooting happened. that's one thing that the fbi and the atf are very good at.

they have experienced evidence response technicians, so that can be a big role for them in this and that can take a lot of the pressure off of the local police who can be freed up to do something else. secondly, any time they get a name or a possibility or a rumor or something that has to be checked out, the fbi and atf can help run down those people, try to find them, interview them, so that's the kind of things that they can do to help. >> you also mentioned -- and this has become such an important part of so many investigations. surveillance video. it seems ubiquitous. >> remember, it was the key piece of evidence that led to the arrest of the boston bombing brothers. it shows you how key it can be. right now, rather than building a criminal case, is to get people off the streets and find these againmen and get them arrested.

are they lucky enough to find a license plate? did they get a close-up view of any of these people? so those are the critical things, lester. >> all right, pete. as sarn bernardino. you're watching nbc news live coverage of the shooting in san bernardino. some stations return to regular programming, for owes nbc news coverage begins now. >> we welcome stations along the way as we continue our coverage of this ongoing breaking story. 14 dead, 14 injured as of an hour ago. the latest numbers from san bern de dino police after gunmen burst into a developmental disability center in san bernardino and opened fire in a central part of that building. many, many people of the several hundred that work there were safely evacuateded. but again 14 killed, up to 14 injured. we are told those numbers are fluid. we expect an update shortly.