Feature: Deadly shooting sends shivers to quiet Southern California towns

To many residents in the quiet small towns of San Bernardino and Redlands, their perception of lives changed forever after a deadly shooting Wednesday killed 14 people and injured 21 others.

The two suspects, 28-year-old U.S. citizen Syed Farook and his 27-year-old wife Tashfeen Malik, had sprayed some 70 bullets to innocent San Bernardino Country Health Department employees at a traditional Christmas party at San Bernardino City's Inland Regional Center conference room before being killed in shootout with police.

At their home in Redlands, a city several miles from the shooting scene, police found some 2,000 rounds of ammunition for 9-millimeter hand gun and 2,500 rounds for .223 assault rifle, as well as 12 pipe bombs and tools to make bombs. In their rented black Ford Expedition that due Wednesday, police also found 1,600 rounds of ammunition for rifle and handgun.

"They are well-equipped," San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told a press conference Thursday morning, adding that the couple could be in some degree of planning to attack, though their true motive needs further investigation.

The suspect couple, who left their 6-month-old daughter with grandparents on the day of shooting, was wearing black tactical gear with pockets to hold extra magazines and bombs and left three pipe bombs attached together with remote control in a bag at the shooting scene. The device apparently failed to detonate. Four high-capacity rifle magazines were also left behind at the scene.

Joan Vanommem, who moved to Redlands four years ago after retirement, told Xinhua, "It's unbelievable people live in these beautiful, quiet homes could do such things."

"Why? Why? What is the reason for this?" Vanommem asked. "I always think terrorist attacks such as this happen in a big city, not in my small quiet town. We live in such a quiet city where everybody seems to know each other. We know all the stores in downtown.

"It's a terrible thing. I don't know whether it's a terrorist act. But it's awful that somebody that you think is quiet, nice person should be capable of doing this," she said.

Farook was described as a quiet Muslim who followed a routine of going to work, returning home and praying. He and Malik were not on the terror watch list and had no criminal records. The four firearms they used in the shooting were purchased legally and registered.

Malik was Pakistani. Farook went to Saudi Arabia and returned with Malik, whom he met online.

Redlands has about 70,000 population. Its neighbor city San Bernardino, which has filed for bankruptcy, has about 210,000 people. Some of the residents are immigrants from Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

"It is rare to see so many police vehicles, fire engines with flashing lights, bomb detecting robots and so many media guys around this small town," San Bernardino resident Levin Cockwell told Xinhua. "These remind people that it is not safe here."

The Wednesday shooting has not been confirmed as a terrorist attack yet. U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday morning that there may be mixed motives in it and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will "get to the bottom of this."

However, due to the weapons and equipment of the suspects, this shooting is not an ordinary work place violence, though Farook had worked at the San Bernardino County Health Department for five years, local analysts said.

Farook attended the party early in the morning and left for unknown reason and then returned back at around 11:00 a.m. local time (1900 GMT) with his wife and weapons.

FBI Assistant Regional Director David Bowdich said that they still need more time and evidence to judge whether this is a terrorist attack.

Some 300 police officers from seven agencies at local, state and federal levels responded to the shooting Wednesday with 23 officers involved in the gunfire which killed the suspects.

The officers fired 380 rounds at the suspects, who fired 76 rounds at the officers. Two officers were injured during the gunfire.

A previous co-worker of Farook gave police an important tip that led to the search of the couple's house, where the police found the Ford car, followed by the pursuit and killing of the couple.

There were several hundred people inside the building of the Inland Regional Center when the shooting happened. Most of them walked out unhurt.

The center is a non-profit offering services to individuals with developmental disabilities. It has about 670 employees and has served more than 30,000 people.

Dan Meier, a Redlands resident living very close to Farook's home, told Xinhua that "these health and social assistance agencies help a lot of people, but the location became a place of attack. That's the worst." Endi