All 14 victims from the horrific attack in San Bernardino, Calif., have been identified, according to reports. The mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center, which serves developmentally disabled people, also wounded 21 others.
On Wednesday, Dec. 2, the armed suspects – county employee Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27 – entered the facility around 11 a.m. local time and shot employees during a holiday party. The suspects were later killed during a police shootout.
Farook’s brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, opened up about the tragedy during an interview with NBC News. He described the suspects as a “happy couple” but said Farook is “a bad person.” Before the massacre, Farook and Malik left their 6-month-old daughter with Farook’s mother.
“What’s the outcome? You left your 6-month-old daughter in this life,” Khan told NBC. “Some people cannot have kids. God gave you a gift of a daughter. And you left that kid behind. What … what did you achieve?”
According to ABC, a vigil for the victims was held at the San Manuel Stadium on Thursday night. Several loved ones of those who died have released statements since.
Isaac Amanios, 60, was killed during the attack. His cousin, New York Giants safety Nat Berhe, tweeted about his loss. “Just got word that one of my cousins was among the 14 killed yesterday, I’m so sick right now,” he wrote. “The true terror is that this keeps happening. I still can’t believe it. Take a moment to think of the families hurting right now.”
Michael Raymond Wetzel, 37, was a father of six young children. “Michael was the most amazing person. He was my best friend and an incredible father who was loved by all,” his wife, Renee, said in a statement. “I didn’t know a better person. He loved his work and his family so very much. Without him, this family will never be the same.”
Damian Meins, 58, recently began working for the County of San Bernardino Environmental Health, and gave back to his community in several ways. “He was also the PE teacher and after-school care for Mari Villela’s children at St. Catherine’s school, here in Riverside on Brockton and Arlington Ave. He played Santa for the school and Mari’s children have pictures with him for the past few years,” his former boss Juan Perez said in an email, via ABC.
Shannon Johnson, 45, worked as an environmental health specialist for 10 years. His girlfriend, Mandy Pfifer, is a member of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Crisis Response Team. “We offer our full support to Mandy in this unimaginably difficult time, and I send my deepest condolences to Shannon’s family and all who are grieving loved ones in the aftermath of this senseless tragedy,” Garcetti said in a statement, via New York Daily News.
Daniel Kaufman, 42, worked at a coffee shop at the facility and leaves behind his partner of three years, Ryan Reyes. “I’m not just exaggerating because he was my boyfriend, but the world will suffer from having one less person like him in it,” Reyes said, via ABC.
Robert Adams, 40, leaves behind his wife, Summer, and their daughter, Savannah. He and Summer knew each other since they were teenagers and were recently planning a trip to Disneyland.
Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, worked for the company for over a decade. He previously lived in New Jersey, but moved out to California to be with his wife, Jennifer.
Juan Carlos Espinoza, 50, came to the U.S. from Mexico in his twenties, according to the New York Daily News. “He was an honest, fair and hardworking man,” his daughter, Jerusalem, said in a statement.
Tin Nguyen, 31, loved to hike and was a “very peaceful person,” according to her cousin Jimmy. “She was a true goody two-shoes. A real innocent,” he said. Tin reportedly had just gone wedding dress shopping with her boyfriend.
Sierra Clayborn, 27, also died during the shooting. On her LinkedIn page, she described her job as “making a difference daily by protecting people where they live, work and play.”
Harry Bowman, 46, leaves behind two daughters, ages 11 and 15. “Death at its best is hard to take,” his relative Bill Kraft told the Los Angeles Times. “This type of death is extremely hard to take, especially when you have young children. There is no way you are going to make them understand.”
Benneta Betbadal, 46, was a wife and a mother to three young children. Her family has created a memorial fund in her honor. “Benneta left the house Wednesday morning, excited about a presentation she was scheduled to give to her supervisors and coworkers at their annual meeting,” her family wrote in a statement. “It is the ultimate irony that her life would be stolen from her that day by what appears to be the same type of extremism that she fled so many years ago.”
Yvette Velasco, 27, was an environmental health specialist. “We are devastated about what happened,” her family statement said, via the L.A. Times. “And are still processing this nightmare.”
Aurora Godoy, 26, is survived by her husband, James, and their 22-month-old son, Alexander. She worked as an office assistant at the company.