San Bernardino police respond to reports of 20 possible victims; perpetrators unknown; authorities flood the area in southern California.
At least one person opened fire at or near a state social services agency in the Southern California city of San Bernardino on Wednesday and as many as 20 people were wounded, authorities said. At least three people have been confirmed killed.
The San Bernardino Police Department said on Twitter that it had “confirmed 1 to 3 possible suspects” and multiple victims in the shooting. The agency called it an “active shooter” incident. Local reports said that all the suspected shooters have escaped and that their whereabouts are unknown.
The San Bernardino Fire Department said in a tweet that it was responding to reports of 20 victims.
A hospital says it’s received four patients in its trauma center after a shooting at a social services facility in Southern California.
Briana Pastorino, spokeswoman for Loma Linda University Medical Center, says she didn’t know their conditions. She says the hospital expects to get three more patients.
The shooting took place at the Inland Regional Center, one of 21 facilities serving people with developmental disabilities run by the state, said Nancy Lungren, spokeswoman for the California Department of Developmental Services.
The president and CEO of the Southern California social services center where gunfire has erupted says the focus is on a building that houses at least 25 employees as well as a library and conference center.
An IRC employee told CNN that an event was being held for county personnel at the time the shooting started.
Feild says people served by the center also would have been in the building, which is in San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Television images on CNN showed people being evacuated from the building, their arms raised, as triage stations were set up outside. Police and SWAT teams were seen surrounding the building.
A police spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times that the suspects were heavily armed and possibly wearing body armor.
As reported by Ynetnews