Speaking on CNN’s Out Front with Erin Burnett Wednesday, former CIA case officer Robert Baer said the most “disturbing” aspect of the deadly San Bernardino shooting is that it was carried out using tactics that are employed in the Middle East.
“What I don’t like about this shooting is multiple shooters… IEDs… I say this very reluctantly, but this has the hallmarks of the sort of attacks you see in the Middle East,” Baer said.
Former FBI special agent Robert Chacon agreed with Baer’s assertions later on in the show.
The shooting began around 11 a.m. Pacific time when several suspects opened fire at a conference center where a holiday party was reportedly being held. One suspect was killed and another is at large. There are 14 reported deaths so far and 14 injured victims.
Pipe bombs were also found in the area around the six-block radius of the 1300 block of S. Waterman, where the shooting took place. According to Los Angeles Times reporter Rich Serrano, federal authorities have also theorized that one gunman was at the event earlier in the day to make sure a specific target was there, then returned.
Ca shooting: Feds also theorize that one gunman was at the event earlier in the day to make sure a specific target was there, then returned
— Rick Serrano (@RickSerranoLAT) December 3, 2015
One of the guests on Burnett’s show said the shooting reminded her of the Paris attacks in January, where the Kouachi brothers opened fire on members of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, noting that they similarly did not have a plan to escape.
Meanwhile, Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) sympathizers took to social media on Wednesday praising the brutal attacks with the hashtag #America_Burning:
ثلاث ليوث اثلجوا صدورنا بفضل الله مازالوا أحياء ويتجولون شوارع كاليفورنيا بالزى العسكرى وبأسلحة ثقيلة #أمريكا_تشتعل #تكبيـر
— ﺳ̲ﻟ̲آﻣ̲يےﻋ ﺂ̲ﻟ̲ﺩ̲ۆﻟة (@Neran_Da3shya) December 2, 2015
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz and on Facebook.
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