Feature: Southern California shooting victims mourned, stricter gun control called

"It's really a nerve-wracking incident," said Bernice Cabrera, a resident in San Bernardino, southern California.

She could not hold her tears when recalling the horrible moment when she saw helicopters hovering above the city and so many policemen around the neighborhood on Wednesday.

Cabrera was one of the 2,000 people who attended Thursday night a candlelight vigil for the victims in a deadly shooting in the city that killed 14 people and injured 21 others.

At least five vigils have been announced to be held on Thursday night or Friday at different locations in southern Californian cities.

People also sent mourning messages on social media.

Moyen Uddi Harjee, a Muslim in his 50s, went straight to the Baitul Hameed Mosque after work. "I told some friends that there will be praying here for the victims of the shooting. We want to show our condolences to the victims and their families, show our solidarity with them," he told Xinhua. "We can feel their pain. We are with them."

Haleema Shaikiby, a female Muslim, told Xinhua at the same mosque, "We come to pray for all the victims and their families. We pray for everyone."

Among the 14 dead, 12 were San Bernardino County Health Department employees who were attending a traditional Christmas party at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino Wednesday morning when the shooting happened. Among the 21 injured, 18 were county employees.

A couple from San Bernardino's neighboring city of Redlands, 28-year-old U.S. citizen Syed Farook and his 27-year-old wife Tashfeen Malik sprayed the party room with some 70 rounds of bullets. Police found in the room later a bag with three pipe bombs bound together with a remote control that obviously failed to be detonated.

Farook was an American-born Muslim and Malik is a Pakistani whom Farook met online and brought back last year from a trip to Saudi Arabia. The couple, killed in a shootout with police, had a six-month-old daughter left to her grandparents Wednesday morning.

Police found a total of 1,600 rifle and handgun rounds in their rented car after the couple were shot down, and 2,000 nine-millimeter handgun rounds and 2,500 .223 assault rifle rounds at their home, as well as 12 pipe bombs and tools to make bombs.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday morning that "We are going to get to the bottom of this. There may be mixed motives in all of this." He also called for stricter gun control after the shooting.

Salam Al-Marayati, founder and executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, said in a religious leaders' press conference Thursday morning, "We have great challenges before us, but I think as you see the assembly of leaders like this, we're prepared and we believe a united front is the best answer to deal with these kinds of problems."

"We're dealing with violent crime. And the fact is, several people were killed and injured yesterday and I don't think it matters to them what the motivation is."

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democrat presidential candidate, tweeted on Thursday that "The San Bernardino shooting was the 355th mass shooting this year. Gun violence has reached epidemic levels in the US. It must end."

He also tweeted on Wednesday that "Mass shootings are becoming an almost-everyday occurrence in this country. This sickening and senseless gun violence must stop."

Candace Michelle, a 32-year-old violin teacher in the Southern Californian city of Monrovia, told Xinhua that "People should not be so easy to get access to so many ammunitions. I know there is anti-Muslim sentiment here around, but not every Muslim is radical. No matter this case is a terrorist act or not, the more important is to do stricter gun control."

Farook worked for the San Bernardino County Health Department for five years. He attended the department's holiday party Wednesday morning, but left early for unknown reason. He and his wife returned in black assault-style clothing with rifles in hands before 11:00 a.m. local time (1900 GMT), and started the shooting.

Farook was described as a quiet Muslim who followed a routine of going to work, returning home and praying. He and his wife were not on terror watch list and had no criminal records.

FBI's Assistant Regional Director David Bowdich said that they still need more time and evidence to judge whether the shooting is a terrorist attack or not.

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. Officers fired 380 rounds at the suspects who fired 76 rounds at the fficers. Two officers were injured in the gunfire.

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said the couple were "well-equipped," and they could be in some degree of planning to attack, though their true motive needs further investigation.

Due to their weapons and equipment, this shooting should not be regarded as an ordinary workplace violence, local analysts said.

Last Friday, a shooting in a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado killed three people and injured nine others. Endi