The Council on American-Islamic Relations scrambled to denounce the Dec. 2 killing spree in San Bernardino yesterday after reports that one of the shooters was of Pakistani descent, setting up an evening press conference through its Los Angeles office.
CAIR's press event included the brother-in-law of one of the shooting suspects, who expressed shock and disbelief of the events. "I have no idea, no idea, why he would do that," a shaken Farhan Khan told reporters.
A married couple with a six-month-old daughter are the suspects in the shooting, which killed 14. They include Syed Farook, a US-born employee of San Bernardino County's health department, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, a Pakistan native.
“The Muslim community stands shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Americans in repudiating any twisted mindset that would claim to justify such sickening acts of violence," CAIR-LA executive director Hussam Ayloush, who led the press conference, said in a statement.
Although details continue to emerge from the event, responses from the political realm to the shooting skewed to the traditionally partisan views toward gun policy.
President Barack Obama sat down with CBS News' Kelly O'Donnell, declaring frustration and calling again for "common sense" gun safety laws. "We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world," he said.
Republican front-runner Donald Trump said via Twitter that the shooting "looks very bad," adding: "Good luck to law enforcement and God bless. This is when our police are so appreciated."
The New York Daily News, which has advocated for stronger gun control laws, sparked a debate today with its front page critical of politicians who offer "prayers" as a response to the country's 355th mass shooting in the past year. Rival New York Post played up one of the suspects' Muslim beliefs.
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