Law enforcement officials confirm that Syed Farook indeed was radicalized by Islamic terrorists which contributed to the attacks yesterday in San Bernardino, CA.
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It’s been widely reported that Farook traveled to Saudi Arabia in 2013 as part of an Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is expected to make at least once in their life. It was on that same trip that he met his wife Tashfeen Malik.
However, the FBI had no reason to believe anything about that trip was suspicious. It wasn’t until they uncovered Facebook and other electronic communications in a recent raid of his house did his contact with terrorists surface.
Farook had been having conversations with people that that FBI was investigating for terrorist activity and one official said that he had “overseas communications and associations.”
It should be noted that officials can’t confirm what motivated this particular attack, only that he was in fact radicalized by known terrorists.
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From CNN:
Syed Rizwan Farook — one-half of the couple behind the San Bernardino shooting massacre — was apparently radicalized and in touch with people being investigated by the FBI for international terrorism, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
Farook’s apparent radicalization contributed to his role in the mass shooting, with his wife Tashfeen Malik, of 14 people Wednesday during a holiday party for the San Bernardino County health department, where Farook worked, sources said.
Still, it wasn’t necessarily the only driver behind the carnage, as workplace grievances may have also played a role. President Barack Obama hinted as much Thursday when he said that the attackers may have had “mixed motives.”
Was this attack a jihadist one or were they planning additional assaults? Share your thoughts below in the comments!
