Father of San Bernardino Shooter Speaks Out

The father of one of the suspected shooters in Wednesday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino has spoken out, expressing shock that his son, a health inspector, was involved in the attack.

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Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, along with wife Tashfeen Malik, 27, are suspected of opening fire during a work holiday party at the Inland Regional Center on Wednesday morning, killing 14 people and wounding 17 others. The couple, who had a six month old daughter, were later killed in a shootout with the police.

Farook had worked for the health department for five years. His father, also named Syed Farook, told the New York Daily News that he was shocked by his son’s involvement in the shooting. “He was very religious. He would go to work, come back, go to pray, come back,” he told the paper. “He’s Muslim.” The elder Farook said his son graduated from La Sierra High School in Riverside, Calif., in 2003.

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Farook and Malik left their daughter with Farook’s mother on Wednesday morning, telling her they had to go to a doctor’s appointment, an unnamed relative told The New York Times. When, hours later, Farook’s mother learned of the shooting at her son’s work party, she had no idea of his alleged role in the tragedy, the Times reported.

Farhan Khan, Farook’s brother-in-law, also expressed his disbelief at his relative’s involvement. “I cannot express how sad I am for what happened today,” Khan said during a Council on American-Islamic Relations press conference. “My condolences to the people who lost their life.”

He continued: “I have no idea why would [Farook] do that, why would he do something like this. I am in shock myself.”

(Photo: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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