FBI now officially treating San Bernardino shootings as terror attack

If you've been wondering when the FBI would come out and say what everyone on Earth already knew, congratulations, your wait is over. According to the New York Times, the San Bernardino shootings are now officially being treated as an act of terrorism and the agency has taken control of the investigation from local law enforcement.

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WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. is now treating the San Bernardino shooting by a husband and wife that killed 14 and wounded 21 as an act of terrorism, an agency official said Friday. “As of today, based on the information and facts as we know them,” the agency is investigating this “as an act of terrorism,” David Bowdich, the assistant F.B.I. director in charge of the Los Angeles office, said at a news conference. The agency will be taking over the investigation from local officials. Mr. Bowdich did not offer any details about why the bureau had made the determination, saying only that “there’s a number of pieces of evidence that has pushed us off the cliff.” The shift in the investigation game shortly after federal law enforcement officials said the woman who helped carry out the shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., Tashfeen Malik, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a Facebook posting.

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Investigators do not currently believe that the shooters were directed by ISIS, but were "self-radicalized" ISIS sympathizers inspired by the terrorist organization. Many have been quick to say "well, duh" about the FBI's announcement, and have been critical of how long it took make the call. That seems somewhat petty since the FBI has been on the scene since moments after the shootings occurred. They've been working closely with local authorities and, given how long it took them to release the names and ethnicities of the terrorists, it's likely that everyone knew exactly what they were dealing with from the get-go. Yesterday, ABC reported that while the shooters don't appear to have direct connections to ISIS, they may have been in contact with people that do.

Investigators believe that over several years, one of the alleged San Bernardino shooters, Syed Farook, had been in some sort of contact with several people who were on the FBI’s radar due to potential terrorism concerns, according to multiple sources. However, the sources stressed that the people Farook was in contact with were "not significant FBI targets" and "not subjects of significance," the sources said.

That's all well and good, but if this is what the President calls "contained," we're in a world of trouble.

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