Obama: No known motive in California shooting, terrorism 'possible'

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama told the American people on Thursday that investigators will "get to the bottom" of the San Bernardino shooting that left 14 dead, saying it is unclear if the shooting was an act of workplace violence or terrorism and that the United States must take steps to "make it a little harder" to gain access to guns.

Obama, flanked by top law enforcement, intelligence and national security officials, said it is unclear why the two suspects -- Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27 -- opened fire on the Inland Regional Center, which provides services for the disabled. The shooting also left 17 injured.

But, he said, it is important for "all of us, including our legislatures, to see what we can do to make sure that when individuals decide that they want to do somebody harm, we'll make it a little harder for them to do it because right now, it's just too easy."

Obama praised law enforcement for their professionalism and timely response. He said "we see the prevalence of these kinds of mass shootings in this country and I think so many Americans sometimes feel as if there's nothing we can do about it."

"What I can assure the American people is we're going to get to the bottom of this and that we are going to be vigilant as we always are in getting the facts before we issue any decisive judgments in terms of how this occurred," he said.

"We're going to have to I think search ourselves as a society to make sure that we take some basic steps that make it harder -- not impossible -- but harder for individuals to get access to weapons," he said.

Investigators are hoping to determine what led Farook and Malik to open fire with assault rifles and semiautomatic handguns at the social services center at about 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Police said Farook, a U.S. citizen and environmental inspector with San Bernardino County's health department, left a work holiday party angrily before the shooting. He had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia and returned married to Malik. Police have not confirmed their relationship but family members said they are married. They were killed in a shootout with police.

Investigators searched three sites through the night: the scene of the shooting, a site about two miles away where the couple died and a townhouse in a nearby town. They set off controlled explosives in the townhouse fearing the couple left explosives behind. Bomb squads also found three explosives the suspects left behind at the social services center.

Residents in the couple's neighborhood reported seeing scores of heavily armed officers in tactical gear scouring the area late Wednesday. None of the victims have been identified.