One of the two attackers in the San Bernardino, California mass shooting on Wednesday pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, on Facebook, officials said Friday.
Officials told both the New York Times and the Washington Post that Tashfeen Malik, 27, wrote on Facebook that she supported ISIS. However, they did not say when the woman, who was married to the other shooter, Syed Farook, 28, posted the statement. The officials also do not believe that ISIS directly contacted the couple.
“At this point we believe they were more self-radicalized and inspired by the group than actually told to do the shooting,” one official told the Times.
The investigations into their motive of the shooting at a civil services center is still ongoing and is now being lead by the FBI. Fourteen people died and 21 others were injured. Hours after the shooting, Farook and Malik were killed in a shootout with police.
It is believed that the couple planned the attack far in advance.. Investigators found an arsenal of explosives and ammunition at their home. The couple also tried to cover their tracks by deleting information online before the shooting.
Farook was an American citizen and traveled to Saudi Arabia to meek his wife, a Pakistani. They returned to the U.S. in July 2014.
The motive for the attack has many investigators puzzled. If this was a case of workplace violence, it doesn’t make sense for Farook to have built-up such an arsenal of weapons. However, it also can’t be quickly called terrorism because Farook targeted his co-workers in a small California city, far from a major location. Even President Barack Obama on Thursday said that it could not be quickly categorized as a terrorist attack.
“At this stage we do not yet know why this terrible event occurred,” Obama said.