President Barack Obama will visit San Bernardino County on Friday, to visit with the survivors and the families of victims of the Dec. 2 terrorist attack at the Inland Regional Center.
The White House announced the visit Wednesday morning. The trip is actually a stop-off on a previously scheduled Obama family Christmas vacation to Hawaii. There will not be any public events held while the president is in San Bernardino, according to a White House official familiar with the plans.
“I’m pleased that President Obama will be traveling to San Bernardino to meet with family members of those lost in the horrific attack at the Inland Regional Center,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, is quoted as saying in a statement released by his office. “I’ve conveyed to the White House the importance of the President’s presence in our region as we rebuild, and I join with our community in welcoming him to San Bernardino.”
Fourteen people were killed and 21 others injured at a Christmas party at the IRC.
Federal officials believe that Redlands residents Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik were inspired by, rather than organized by ISIS. FBI Director James Comey made the remarks Wednesday during a news conference in New York. The pair had apparently spoken of their commitment to violent extremism via social media direct messaging before they were married in 2013.
“So far in this investigation we have found no evidence of posting on social media by either of them at that period of time and thereafter reflecting their commitment to jihad or martyrdom,” Comey said.
Previously, sources close to the investigation within the FBI reported that Malik posted a pledge of allegiance to the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on Facebook shortly before the attack took place. David Bowdich, FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, previously acknowledged those reports as being under investigation.
Comey said the terror group has perfected the use of social media, and Twitter in particular, to contact potential followers in the United States and elsewhere.
“Twitter works as a way to sell books, as a way to promote movies, and it works as a way to crowdsource terrorism — to sell murder,” Comey said.
Earlier Wednesday, Aguilar led the House of Representatives in a moment of silence in memory of those affected by the IRC attack.
“In the wake of this terrorist act, our San Bernardino community has come together and supported one another during this dark chapter of our region and our nation,” Aguilar said. “Mr. Speaker, today I ask my colleagues, fellow Americans and those who hear this message around the world, to pray for the families of the fourteen victims, the speedy recovery of the 22 injured, the countless first responders who helped that day, and for the health and resilience of the San Bernardino community.
“In the aftermath of this pain, I have seen firsthand the tenacity and spirit of the area we call the Inland Empire. We have said loudly as one community that this tragedy will not define us and it will not divide us. We will not be afraid to come together in fellowship, to work together, to mourn together, or to rebuild together. Across faith and culture we will support one another in this time of need.
“Mr. Speaker, San Bernardino has been forced to soldier through difficult times before. As we face this new and different hurdle, I know my community will continue to stand together to show our country and our region the resolve of this city and of these people to heal. We are San Bernardino United.”
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