Female San Bernardino Shooter "Pledged Allegiance" to ISIS on Facebook
The female San Bernardino shooter, Tashfeen Malik, “pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State” on Facebook sometime before or during Wednesday’s attack, authorities say—though there’s still no indication the attack was encouraged or sponsored by ISIS.
In fact, unnamed officials tell the New York Times, “At this point we believe they were more self-radicalized and inspired by the group than actually told to do the shooting.”
It’s still unclear what relationship the couple had, if any, to any terror groups abroad. And ISIS has not claimed responsibility, though it wouldn’t mean much if they did: Some of the Paris attackers pledged allegiance to ISIS, others to Al Qaeda and both groups later claimed responsibility, despite the fact that they hate each other.
To that end, authorities are sifting through evidence left behind by Malik and her husband, Syed Farook, who were both killed during a shootout with police. The duo apparently tried destroy their electronics “in an apparent effort to cover their tracks,” the Times reports.
A number of devices, reportedly including thumb drives, computers and cellphones, were “smashed into little pieces,” an official tells the Washington Post. Forensic experts are reportedly working on recovering the data at the FBI’s Operational Technology Division labs in Quantico, Va.
