Report of man resembling Syed Farook at L.A. skyscraper prompts investigation
Authorities have been fielding numerous tips since the San Bernardino massacre, including at least one in Los Angeles.
Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Police Department got a tip that several weeks ago, a man matching Syed Rizwan Farook’s description and another man tried to get into a high-rise building in downtown L.A., according to a law enforcement source.
Both the LAPD and FBI are investigating, said the source, who stressed that such reports are fairly common and that they have no evidence Farook was the man.
Farook and Tashfeen Malik had been radicalized “for quite some time” and practiced shooting at a gun range days before they opened fire on a San Bernardino holiday party, authorities said Monday.
Investigators have interviewed more than 400 people since Wednesday’s attack but are still trying to determine how long they plotted the massacre and what links if any they had with Islamic terrorist groups.
The FBI and other agencies are also working to piece together a profile of the couple’s life and how exactly they amassed their cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives.
“We are attempting to expand that investigation out and build it and build a picture of each person, the timeline and ultimately the crimes they committed,” said David Bowdich, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office. “That takes time. We are in Day 5.”
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