The investigation into the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California will now be handled by the FBI, President Barack Obama said in a statement Thursday morning. He said that officials still do not know exactly what the motive for the shooting on Wednesday was.
The shooting took place at the Inland Regional Center, which assists those with disabilities. Fourteen people were killed and 17 others were injured. Authorities identified the shooters as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, a man; and Tashfeen Malik, 27, a woman. Police did say that Farook was an environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County. Both were killed in a shootout with police a few hours after the shooting.
Obama gave a short statement at the White House, confirming that the FBI is now leading the investigation, reports NBC News. He said it is still not known if this was terrorism-related or not.
“At this stage we do not yet know why this terrible event occurred,” Obama told reporters, later adding, “It is possible this was terrorist-related ... it is possible this was workplace-related.”
Obama also used the moment to once again call for stricter gun control laws and reminded everyone that mass shootings are happening too often.
“We need to make sure when individuals decide they want to do harm we make it harder because right now it's just too easy,” he said today. “We're going to have to I think search ourselves as a society to make sure that we take some basic steps that make it harder — not impossible — but harder for individuals to get access to weapons.”
The president also ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the shooting.