President Barack Obama says the US “will not be terrorised” by Wednesday’s mass shootings in San Bernardino, California. “We are strong. And we are resilient,” he said in his weekly radio address, adding that it was “entirely possible” the two attackers had been radicalised.
Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, 29, killed 14 people before being shot dead by police. The FBI is investigating the shootings as an “act of terrorism”. The Islamic State militant group on Saturday hailed the attack, saying it had been carried out by “two supporters of the Islamic State”. The statement, carried by IS’s al-Bayan radio, gave no indication that the group had any involvement in planning the shootings at the Inland Regional Center social services agency.
“We know that Isil [IS] and other terrorist groups are actively encouraging people – around the world and in our country – to commit terrible acts of violence, oftentimes as lone wolf actors,” Mr Obama said in his address.
“All of us – government, law enforcement, communities, faith leaders – need to work together to prevent people from falling victim to these hateful ideologies.” Later, the White House said Mr Obama had been updated on the investigation by senior officials, including FBI Director James Comey, who confirmed there was so far no indication that the killers were part of an “organised group or formed part of a broader terrorist cell”.
