The Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members blocks from the White House had been unraveling for years, unable to hold a job and flipping between long, lightless stretches of isolation and taking sudden weekslong cross-country drives. Rahmanullah Lakanwals behavior deteriorated so sharply that a community advocate reached out to a refugee organization for help, fearing he was becoming suicidal.

Emails obtained by The Associated Press reveal mounting warnings about the asylum-seeker whose erratic conduct raised alarms long before the attack that jolted the nations capital on Wednesday, the eve of Thanksgiving. The previously unreported concerns offer the clearest picture yet of how he was struggling in his new life in the United States.

Even so, when the community member who works with Afghan families in Washington state saw on the news that Lakanwal was named as the suspect in the attack, they said they were stunned, unable to square the violence with the memory of seeing Lakanwal play with his young sons. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to share undisclosed details while cooperating with the FBI in its investigation.

West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in the shooting, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically wounded. Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder.

In Afghanistan, Lakanwal worked in a special Afghan Army unit known as a Zero Unit. The units were backed by the CIA. He entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the American withdrawal. Many had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats.

As investigators work to determine a motive, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday on NBCs 'Meet the Press' that officials 'believe he was radicalized since hes been here in this country. We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state and were going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members.' She offered no additional information to support her statement.

Lakanwal resettled with his wife and their five sons, all under the age of 12, in Bellingham, Washington, but struggled, according to the community member, who shared emails that had been sent to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, a nonprofit group that provides services to refugees.

'Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year, 03/2023. He quit his job that month, and his behavior has changed greatly,' the person wrote in a January 2024 email.

The emails described a man who was struggling to assimilate, unable to hold a steady job or commit to his English courses while he alternated between 'periods of dark isolation and reckless travel.' Sometimes, he spent weeks in his 'darkened room, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife or older kids.' At one point in 2023, the family faced eviction after months of not paying rent.

The community member, in an interview, spoke of becoming worried that Lakanwal was so depressed that he would end up harming himself. But the community member did not see any indication that Lakanwal would commit violence against another person.

Lakanwals family members often resorted to sending his toddler sons into his room to bring him the phone or messages because he would not respond to anyone else, one email stated. A couple of times, when his wife left him with the kids for a week to travel to visit relatives, the children would not be bathed, their clothes would not be changed, and they would not eat well. Their school raised concerns about the situation.

But then, there were 'interim' weeks where Lakanwal would try to make amends and 'do the right things,' according to the email, reengaging with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services as was mandated by the terms of his entry into the U.S.

'But that has quickly evolved into ‘manic episodes for one or two weeks at a time, where he will take off in the family car, and drive nonstop,' the email outlined. Once, he went to Chicago, and another time, to Arizona.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, said this past week that Lakanwal drove across the country from Bellingham, which is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Seattle, to the nations capital.

In response to the two emails, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants or USCRI, visited Bellingham a few weeks later in March 2024 and attempted to make contact with Lakanwal and his family, according to the community member, who, after not receiving any updates, was left with the impression that Lakanwal refused their assistance.

A request for comment and clarification from USCRI was not immediately returned.

NEW YORK (AP) ' Cat Murphy, a college student, has wanted to be a journalist since she was 11. Many of her friends dont understand why.

When they engage with the news ' if they do ' they hear a cacophony of voices. They dont know who to believe. Reporters are biased. They make mistakes. Besides, why would you hitch your future to a dying industry?

'There is a lot of commentary ' ‘Oh, good for you. Look what youre walking into. Youre going to be screaming into the void. Youre going to be useless,' said Murphy, a 21-year-old graduate student at the University of Marylands journalism school.

She is undeterred. And its also why shes not surprised by the findings of a study this fall that documented negative attitudes toward the news media among 13- to 18-year-old Americans. The press rarely fares well in surveys of adults, but its sobering to see the same disdain among people whose opinions about the world are still forming.

Words to describe the news media today

Asked by the News Literacy Project for one word to describe todays news media, 84% of teens responded with something negative ' 'biased,' 'crazy,' 'boring,' 'fake, 'bad,' 'depressing,' 'confusing,' 'scary.'

More than half of the teens surveyed believe journalists regularly engage in unethical behaviors like making up details or quotes in stories, paying sources, taking visual images out of context or doing favors for advertisers. Less than a third believe reporters correct their errors, confirm facts before reporting them, gather information from multiple sources or cover stories in the public interest ' practices ingrained in the DNA of reputable journalists.

To some degree, teens reflect the attitudes theyre exposed to, particularly when the most prominent politician of their age has made 'fake news' a mantra. Experts say few teens follow news regularly or learn in school about the purpose of journalism.

Journalists dont help themselves with mistakes or ethical lapses that make headlines. Opinionated reporters or commentators in an era of political division make readers wonder what to believe.

'Some of this (attitude) is earned, but much of it is based on misperception,' said Peter Adams, senior vice president of research and design for the Washington-based News Literacy Project.

Never picking up the news habit

There are ways to turn things around, but it will take work.

Many of Lily Ogburns classmates get their information from social media. Their parents didnt watch or read news reports as they grew up, so they didnt pick up the habit, said Ogburn, a senior at Northwestern Universitys journalism school.

Ogburn is the former editor-in-chief at the well-regarded Daily Northwestern student newspaper. The newspapers 2023 reports on alleged hazing and racism within the schools football program led to the ouster of its coach. Still, she found some students dont understand the newspapers role; they believe it exists to protect people in power rather than hold them accountable.

She frequently had to explain what she did to classmates. 'Theres a lot of mistrust toward journalists,' she said. But it has firmed her resolve to stick with the profession.

'I want to be a journalist that people trust,' Ogburn said, 'and I want to report news that makes people believe and trust in the media.'

The news industrys financial troubles over the past two decades have hollowed out newsrooms and left fewer journalists on duty. Along with not seeing much legitimate journalism, young people frequently dont experience it through popular culture ' unlike a previous generation, which learned in detail how Washington Post reporters Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein exposed the Watergate scandal in the Academy Award-winning movie 'All the Presidents Men.'

When the News Literacy Project asked, two-thirds of teens couldnt think of anything when asked what movies or TV shows come to mind when they think about journalism. Those who had answers most frequently cited the 'Spider-Man' franchise or the movie 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.' Neither portrayal was particularly flattering.

Upon retiring as editor of Newsday, Howard Schneider helped develop the State University of New York systems first School of Journalism. But instead of teaching future writers, editors or producers, he became drawn to teaching non-journalists about being news consumers.

Now the executive director of SUNY Stony Brooks Center for News Literacy, Schneider wasnt surprised about any of the recent surveys findings, either.

'The negativity, the feeling that news is biased, is just a reflection of how their parents feel,' Schneider said. 'The more exposed to news, legitimate news, the more their attitudes turn positive.'

He has developed news literacy programs for school districts. 'Students will say, ‘I get my news from YouTube,' he said. 'I say, ‘No, you dont,’' and explains where the news originates and how to be discerning about what they see.

Lessons from a news literacy class

Thats one of the lessons that 16-year-old Brianne Boyack has taken from her course in news literacy at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. She had little trust in news going in, but has learned the importance of double-checking sources when she sees something interesting and seeking outlets shes found reliable.

Her classmate, Rhett MacFarlane, applied what he learned in class to investigate when a friend told him the Louvre was robbed in Paris.

'Ive learned that there is definitely fact-checking (in journalism),' MacFarlane, also 16, told The Associated Press. 'You guys are professionals and you have to tell the truth or youd be fired. I thought you guys just did whatever you wanted and chose what to say about a topic.'

Still, news literacy programs in schools are relatively rare. Schools already have a lot of subjects to cover to prepare students for the future. And, remember, journalists dont have the best reputations. It can be hard for educators to stick their necks out for them.

'Theres an inertia here,' Schneider said, 'and this is an urgent issue.'

At the University of Maryland, Murphy said she didnt think there was an inherent hatred toward journalists among her fellow students. 'They dont have any experience reading journalism,' she said.

Thats where she sees the journalism industry needing to make more of an effort. One of the things she finds most frustrating about her chosen field is a resistance to change, particularly an unwillingness or inability to make meaningful use of social media.

'Theres very little movement in the direction of going to where people are, as opposed to expecting them to come to where you are,' Murphy said. 'The only way to turn it around is going to be to switch to doing things that captivate people today, as opposed to captivating people 20 years ago.'

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) ' Pope Leo XIV doubled down Sunday on the Holy Sees insistence on a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying in his first airborne news conference that it was the 'only solution' that could guarantee justice for both sides.

Leo made the comments as he flew from Istanbul to Beirut for the second and final leg of his maiden voyage as pope. Though Leo has been fielding journalists questions at informal gatherings at his country house, the brief encounter marked his first news conference as pope and followed the tradition of his predecessors of using his foreign trips to engage with the media.

Because of the short flight, the news conference was limited to two questions from Turkish journalists. When Leo returns to Rome on Tuesday, the encounter will presumably be longer.

The American pope was asked about his private talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan upon his arrival in Ankara and whether they discussed the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Leo confirmed they had, and said that Turkey had an 'important role to play' in both conflicts, noting that Erdogans government had already helped facilitate low-level negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to end the war.

'Unfortunately we still havent seen a solution. But today there are new, concrete proposals for peace.' He said that the Holy See hopes that Erdogan would pursue his dialogue with Ukraine, Russia and the United States to help reach a ceasefire and end the nearly four-year war.

On Gaza, he repeated the Holy Sees longstanding position supporting a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. The creation of a Palestinian state in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza has long been seen internationally as the only way to resolve the conflict.

The Holy See had recognized a Palestinian state in 2015, but the push for a two-state solution received new impetus this year during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Several more countries formally recognized a Palestinian state during the U.N. General Assembly.

'We know that in this moment, Israel doesnt accept this solution, but we see it as the only one that can offer a solution to the conflict that they are living in,' he said. 'We are also friends with Israel and we try with both sides to be a mediating voice that can help bring them closer to a solution with justice for all.'

There was no immediate response from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has long asserted that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israels borders.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu said that Israels opposition to a Palestinian state has 'not changed one bit' and isnt threatened by external or internal pressure.

'I do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone,' he said.

Leo had avoided any direct mention of the Gaza conflict while in Turkey. And in his brief remarks to journalists summarizing his trip so far, he omitted any reference to his visit to Istanbuls Blue Mosque, his most visible engagement with Turkeys Muslim majority.

Rather, Leo focused on the main reason for coming to the region: to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of an important A.D. 325 gathering of bishops from across the Roman Empire in present day Iznik, Turkey. There, the bishops agreed on a common creed, or profession of faith.

The Nicaean Creed is still recited today by millions of Christians around the world and, despite schisms and other divisions, is a rare point of agreement among Catholic, Orthodox and most Protestant believers.

Leo participated in a commemoration of the Council of Nicaea in Iznik and otherwise spent his time in Istanbul meeting with various Orthodox patriarchs. During a joint meeting Saturday, he proposed that they come together in an important way in 2033 in Jerusalem, to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of Christs crucifixion and resurrection, as a new visible sign of their unity.

'Obviously is an event that all Christians want to celebrate,' he said. 'We have years to prepare,' he added, but said the various patriarchs welcomed the proposal.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

WASHINGTON (AP) ' Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.

The lawmakers said they did not know whether last weeks Washington Post report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns.

'This rises to the level of a war crime if its true,' said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, when asked about a follow-up strike aimed at people no long able to fight, said Congress does not have information that happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed Services Committee in both the House and Senate have opened investigations.

'Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that that would be an illegal act,' Turner said.

Turner said there are concerns in Congress about the attacks on vessels that the Trump administration says are transporting drugs, but the allegations regarding the Sept. 2 attack 'is completely outside anything that has been discussed with Congress and there is an ongoing investigation.'

The comments from lawmakers during news show appearance come as the administration escalates a campaign to combat drug trafficking into the U.S. On Saturday, Republican President Donald Trump said the airspace 'above and surrounding' Venezuela should be considered as 'closed in its entirety,' an assertion that raised more questions about the U.S. pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Maduros government accused Trump of making a 'colonial threat' and seeking to undermine the South American countrys sovereignty.

After the Posts report, Hegseth said Friday on X that 'fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.'

'Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict'and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,' Hegseth wrote.

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said in a joint statement late Friday that the committee 'will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.'

That was followed Saturday with the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, and ranking Democratic member, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, issuing a joint statement saying the panel was committed to 'providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defenses military operations in the Caribbean.'

'We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question,' Rogers and Smith said, referring to U.S. Southern Command.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., asked about the Sept. 2 attack, said Hegseth deserves a chance to present his side.

'We should get to the truth. I dont think he would be foolish enough to make this decision to say, kill everybody, kill the survivors because thats a clear violation of the law of war,' Bacon said. 'So, Im very suspicious that he wouldve done something like that because it would go against common sense.'

Kaine and Turner appeared on CBS 'Face the Nation,' and Bacon was on ABCs 'This Week.'

Fourteen people — all but one San Bernardino County workers — died in that conference room, while 22 were wounded. The Dec. 2, 2015, shooting shook the city, region and nation, setting off memories and trauma that last until today.

Here’s a look at key events that occurred before the first bullets were fired, on that tragic day and in the years that have since passed.

Spot, the four-legged robot from Boston Dynamics Inc., is perhaps best known for its viral dance routines to songs like 'Uptown Funk.' But beyond its playful antics, Spots ability to climb stairs and open doors signals a potentially controversial role as a policing tool.

Five years after its commercial debut, the 75-pound, German Shepherd-sized robot is increasingly being deployed by local law enforcement to handle armed standoffs, hostage rescues and hazardous materials incidents ' situations where sending in a human or a real dog could be life-threatening.

More than 60 bomb squads and SWAT teams in the US and Canada are now using Spot, according to previously unreported data shared by Boston Dynamics with Bloomberg News.

The use of such technology raises questions about ethics, oversight and the risks of military-grade tools being deployed in civilian settings. Defense and public safety agencies are increasingly adopting cutting-edge technologies to enhance their operations. Defense tech funding has soared past $28 billion in 2025 ' up 200% year over year, even as broader venture markets cooled, according to PitchBook data.

Robots in particular have been finding a home among law enforcement agencies. ICE, or US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, recently spent around $78,000 on a robot from Canadian tech manufacturer Icor Technology Inc. that can perform similar tasks as Spot and also deploys smoke bombs, according to contract records.

Spots role on law enforcement teams varies. In 2022, it approached a man who had crashed a car trying to kidnap his son in St. Petersburg, Florida, to keep an eye on the situation and see if he was armed. In Massachusetts last year, in two different incidents, it helped assess a chemical waste accident at a middle school in North Andover, and it intervened when a suspect in Hyannis took his mother hostage at knifepoint and fired at officers. Spot was deployed to corner him and police eventually followed with tear gas to apprehend him.

'It did its job,' said trooper John Ragosa, a Massachusetts State Police bomb squad member and the Spot operator assigned to the hostage-rescue mission. 'The suspect was stunned, thinking ‘What is this dog?'

The robot, which starts at around $100,000, can operate autonomously in many cases ' performing maintenance checks, detecting gas leaks and inspecting faulty equipment ' but still relies on human operators like Ragosa for decision making. Using a tablet that resembles a video game controller, an operator guides the machine while monitoring a live video feed from its onboard camera system. Additional built-in sensors handle navigation and mapping. During high-stakes situations, officers can also view the live feed on larger nearby screens.

Spots technology continues to evolve. The company recently added a mode to help Spot navigate slippery spots. And its working to help Spot better manipulate objects in the real world.

The use of robots in emergency situations is hardly new. Police bomb squads have relied on ground robots since the 1980s, but their deployment became more widespread in the early 2000s, according to Robin Murphy, a professor emeritus of computer science and engineering at Texas A&M University. What makes Spot stand out, she said, is its four-legged design ' giving it far greater agility and dexterity than traditional robots that move on tracks or wheels.

Roughly 2,000 Spot units are now in operation globally, Boston Dynamics said. The deployments include organizations such as the Dutch Ministry of Defense and Italys national police. While most of the companys customers are still industrial clients, including manufacturers and utility providers, interest from law enforcement has surged over the past two years, said Brendan Schulman, Boston Dynamics vice president of policy and government relations.

The Massachusetts State Police currently owns two Spot robots ' one purchased in 2020 and another in 2022 ' each costing about $250,000, including add-ons, and funded primarily through state grants, Ragosa said. He said he hopes the agency will add a third unit soon. Some other major cities also have fleets: Houston operates three Spots, while Las Vegas has one, Boston Dynamics said.

Not all departments are equipped to own advanced robots, Murphy said, adding that the question is whether the high cost and complexity of legged robots are worth the extra mobility they provide.

Costs arent the only concern. Some civil liberties groups and technologists warn that using semi-autonomous robots in law enforcement could normalize a more militarized approach to policing. In 2021, the New York Police Department suspended for a time its limited use of Spot following public backlash, with critics questioning both the expense amid city budget constraints and the robots broader role in surveillance. The NYPD later reinstated the program and went on to purchase two of the robots, according to Boston Dynamics.

Some larger police forces also deploy military-grade robots such as PackBots, originally developed by iRobot Corp. These portable machines can be teleoperated, using actuators to handle weapons or inspect suspicious packages, and can communicate with suspects during hostage situations via an onboard audio system. They have long been used in disaster response, including at the World Trade Center site in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, where they helped search through debris.

Boston Dynamics also says it requires its public safety customers to outline how exactly Spot will be used before they ship a unit.

Beryl Lipton, senior investigative researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF, said companies can only do so much to limit how their tools are used when they are in the hands of law enforcement.

'You cant really rely on the goodwill of a particular company when it comes to almost any of these technologies,' she said. 'It doesnt matter who makes the gun ' in general, there are rules about how guns get to be used.'

From a surveillance standpoint, Lipton said the EFF believes there should be state ' and ideally federal ' laws providing basic guidance on what is appropriate. While she acknowledged they arent going to 'hold our breath' waiting for a specific application to be regulated, she emphasized the need for public disclosure and involvement from local city councils and elected oversight bodies.

She also expressed concern that the use of robot dogs helps law enforcement agencies put a friendly spin on the accumulation of technology that can be used for policing.

'One of the things about the so-called robot dogs that we are a little wary of is this normalization and this sort of affectionate framing of calling it a dog,' she said. 'Its normalizing that for the public when its not actually a dog. Its another piece of police technology.'

Ryan Calo, a professor at the University of Washington School of Law focusing on robotics law, said that the technology could deepen public skepticism toward law enforcement, and said clear guidelines are critical for safe deployment.

'The unease people feel around robotics is not just a psychological quirk,' he said. 'They are disconcerting for a reason. The overuse of robotics in policing will further dehumanize police to the public and break down those community ties that have been so important to policing over so many years.'

Ragosa from the Massachusetts State Police said his force also uses drones and other robotics on certain missions. But the advantages of using Spot, in his view, is that it can often go where many other drones cant, and it can work more efficiently than other robots. The battery life is also longer, he added: about an hour and a half for Spot, in his experience, compared with 20 to 30 minutes for drones.

It can also typically perform better indoors and be taught to run autonomous missions without a teleoperator, Calo said. 'Few drones can do this reliably,' he said.

Still, Calo believes robotics can play a valuable role when used transparently and within clear boundaries.

'I dont think every police officer needs a robot partner,' he said. 'But the use of robots in certain situations that have been specified in writing in advance is good. No one wants police to risk their lives or fail to gain situational awareness during an emergency ' nor do we want to live in a robotic police state.'

©2025 Bloomberg News. Visit at bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

He squeezed. To his surprise, a tiny piece of bullet fell out. Another half inch higher and he might have lost an eyeball.

The fragment struck Schuelke, then a San Bernardino police sergeant, during a firefight weeks earlier between police — including Schuelkes son — and a married couple who murdered 14 people and wounded 22 at a holiday-themed meeting of San Bernardino County workers on Dec. 2, 2015.

' Also see: Why did the 2015 San Bernardino mass shooting happen?

Schuelkes blemish faded. Ten years later, the same cant be said for memories and places associated with the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.

The salmon-colored Inland Regional Center where the attack took place remains. But across the street, the golf course where victims gathered is now an Amazon warehouse.

Cars and trucks whisk by the IRC — home then and now to a nonprofit helping the developmentally disabled — on South Waterman Avenue. A decade earlier, a makeshift field hospital filled the street.

For most Americans, Dec. 2 became another notch on a long, bloody and seemingly endless timeline of gun violence that includes more recent massacres in Las Vegas and Uvalde, Texas. Measured by body count, San Bernardino ranks 13th among Americas deadliest mass shootings.

But closer to home, the attacks tragic echo lingers through memorials, traumatic memories and empty chairs at family gatherings.

These are the stories of how Dec. 2, 2015, unfolded and what came after. Theyre based on interviews, media accounts, government documents and a 2016 report by the National Policing Institute and the U.S. Department of Justices Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Sudden departure from party

Training and fun — at least the promise of it — awaited 80 or so employees of San Bernardino Countys Environmental Health Services division.

As theyd done the past few years, they met in the IRCs conference room, rented by the county for events like this. The previous years training focused on what to do if theres an active shooter.

Valerie Kallis-Weber, then 58, had been with environmental health for seven weeks. She walked inside just before 8 a.m.

A Christmas tree stood in a corner of the roughly 85-by-40 foot conference room, where rows of tables lined up to a horseshoe-shaped table for department leaders. A buffet-style breakfast of pastries, coffee and orange juice stood at the other end.

Environmental Services duties include restaurant inspections, pest control and protecting water quality. The meeting featured a training video, employee awards, a trivia game with gift card prizes and group photos by the Christmas tree.

At 10:37 a.m., 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook, a health inspector, got up and left, his bag still on a table. Colleagues thought his abrupt departure seemed odd.

‘What kind of training is this?’

Just before 11, an unscheduled break gave employees the chance to mingle, use the restroom or grab a snack.

Popping sounds erupted outside. Some thought it was fireworks. Others heard gunfire.

A door swung open. Without speaking, a figure wearing all black — a ski mask hiding his face — opened fire.

Some froze, thinking it was a drill like last year. Others sought cover under tables and in restrooms and closets.

The shooter and a smaller, similarly clad person fired more than 100 rounds from two AR-15 semiautomatic rifles.

'‘What kind of training is this? This is craziness,' Kallis-Weber recalled thinking. 'I didnt realize that shots were fired and it was real.'

Kallis-Weber locked eyes with the smaller figure, who shot her in the shoulder. She also took a bullet in the back.

Farook and his wife, 29-year-old Tashfeen Malik, walked between tables, firing at anyone moving or making a sound. Then they left the bullet-riddled, scream-filled chaos in a black Ford Expedition.

The carnage took less than five minutes.

Not ‘the dream team’

That morning, San Bernardino police Lt. Mike Madden found himself between meetings. The citys bankruptcy, which slashed the departments workforce, left him in charge of the records and dispatch departments.

As a middle manager overseeing civilians, Madden didnt have to wear his uniform. He still did so to feel like a cop and to help officers in the field who asked for a supervisor. But he lacked the tactical gear patrol officers would have.

Madden, then 48, planned to get gas and a bite to eat when his radio broadcast a report of shots fired, possibly from the empty Santa Ana River basin south of the IRC.

'Its San Bernardino and even at 10:58 on a Wednesday morning, its not uncommon for us to have shots-heard calls in that area,' Madden said. 'So it didnt really catch my attention.'

Seconds later, reports came in of multiple shots fired — possibly from more than one shooter — and multiple victims.

Madden recalled 'a lot of contradicting information, a lot of just trying to piece it together.'

'It was one of those things that weve got something serious going on there and I need to get there.'

When Madden drove up, he realized he was the first on scene. Taking cover behind his cars trunk, he surveyed the area.

'Its almost eerily quiet except for the radio,' he said.

People ran out the front doors — some bloodied — away from him. Madden waved over an unarmed security guard, who said at least one suspect drove away in a black SUV and one or two shooters were still inside.

Before the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, law enforcement waited for SWAT to confront a shooter. Now, it fell on the first-arriving officers to neutralize the threat as soon as possible.

Madden and three other San Bernardino cops — Detective Brian Lewis and Officers Brett Murphy and Shaun Sandoval — entered the IRC. Guns drawn, they moved, backs to each other and close enough to touch, in a diamond formation, with one officer looking forward, two guarding the flanks and the fourth protecting the rear.

Just two wore ballistics helmets. Only one held a shotgun. No one had a rifle.

'If you were picking your go team, your dream team, so to speak, to be your entry team, the four of us wouldnt have been on your roster,' Madden said.

'But hey, guess what? None of us have the luxury of picking the calls. The calls pick us.'

Smoke, rain and terror

Years before, Madden took part in SWATs active shooter training drills. Strobe lights, trip wires, sirens, flashbangs and smoke swarmed the senses as fake suspects fired fake rounds at officers.

'I remember talking to one of my fellow sergeants after going through one of the trainings and we were essentially almost badmouthing the training, saying ‘Oh my God, these guys have lost their minds. Its over the top,' Madden said.

It wasnt over the top in the conference room.

'The lights were off but we were still getting the ambient lighting coming from inside. The strobes were going off from the fire alarms,' Madden recalled.

'There was smoke (at) about eye level and you could not even see the ceiling because it was just filled with permeating smoke. The smoke from the gunpowder was basically burning your nostrils because there was so much gunpowder in the air. The fire alarms were going off.'

So were the fire sprinklers.

'It was essentially raining in the room,' Madden said.

A bullet struck a water main in the acoustic ceiling.

'So water was just gushing out of this water main and it was saturating the ceiling tiles,' Madden said.

'So now you couldnt see the ceiling, but all of a sudden you just had pieces of acoustic ceiling falling down through the smoke.'

Amid screams and moans, the team forged ahead, walking past the dead and wounded. Some victims grabbed at officers legs as they walked by, desperately trying to get their attention.

'Our role at the time had to be locating, isolating and stopping the threat,' Madden said.

Not stopping to help 'was a very difficult decision to have to make because there were victims in that room that were still alive, but certainly in tremendous amounts of pain, gravely injured,' he added.

More officers arrived and joined the team in a hallway. Madden and others entered a restroom.

On one wall, 'you got like three or four bullet holes and those bullets just traveled straight through,' he said.

'There was blood all over the floor … All of the napkins and toilet paper had been dispensed from all of the rolls and dispensers in the bathroom … Somebody had obviously been trying to triage a gunshot wound in there.'

Officers found a locked stall.

'Bathroom stalls just dont get locked by themselves,' Madden said. 'Were announcing (and) were yelling and the fire alarms are still going off so its loud and were not getting a response.'

'We kicked the door and theres three female victims standing on top of a toilet seat, just trying to conceal their feet because theyre thinking we were the suspects.'

That evening, an FBI SWAT officer found a suspicious bag in the conference room.

Left behind by Farook, it held three pipe bombs. Authorities believed the shooters planned to set them off after first responders arrived.

A hunters mindset

Gary Schuelkes day began with one hunt and ended with another.

The head of San Bernardino polices narcotics unit, he and his team started the morning of Dec. 2 in Ontario, tracking a man suspected of smuggling drugs into San Bernardino.

His son had the day off. But instead of running errands or relaxing, San Bernardino police Officer Ryan Schuelke was at the Arrowhead Springs Hotel just north of San Bernardino for active shooter training drills with the SWAT team he hoped to join.

Over the radio, Gary Schuelke heard about a shooting in San Bernardino — not an unusual call, given that San Bernardino at the time had one of the nations highest violent crime rates per 100,000 people. 

More information came in: active shooter, multiple victims.

'Thats when I decided ‘Lets get out of here and lets head to the city to see if we can help out,' Gary Schuelke said.

Ryan Schuelke arrived at the IRC before his father. Law enforcement swarmed the scene, including San Bernardino County probation officers and others who carried out victims — made slippery by sprinkler water — using chairs and blankets or by hand.

A senior officer told Ryan Schuelke to talk to people leaving the building and see if they needed help or knew anything about the shooting. He saw two dead bodies outside.

'I was kind of like ‘All right, this is real. This is bigger than normal, ' said Ryan Schuelke, who had been a cop for about a year.

Most of the people he spoke with gave unhelpful or panicked information. Except for one.

Calm, unlike the others, he told Ryan Schuelke he thought his co-worker, Syed Farook, might be the shooter. Ryan Schuelke shared the name with his dad, whose plainclothes officers routinely tracked suspects.

'So that was my mindset,' Gary Schuelke said. 'Were going to hunt these folks down.'

He gave his son a choice.

'‘Hey, do you want to stay here and be a scene guy? You want to be a perimeter guy? Or do you want to go and help us track these people down? '

'And obviously, being the warrior that he is, he says ‘I want to go with you. '

They left in Gary Schuelkes silver Nissan Pathfinder.

In the back was an AR-15.

Tracking the shooters

Police searched for Farooks address and told the media about the vehicle seen leaving the IRC. Calls poured in, including a tip about an SUV with Utah license plates.

It was registered to Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which rented Farook the vehicle. Gary Schuelkes team headed to the Redlands townhouse Farook and Malik shared with their six-month-old daughter and Farooks mother.

On the way, Gary Schuelke told his son to grab the AR-15. Ryan loaded the rifle in the front seat.

The SUV left just as the narcotics team arrived. They followed it through the city en route to the 10 Freeway as narcotics Officer Nicholas Koahou flagged down Redlands police Sgt. Andy Capps, who was in the neighborhood on an unrelated call.

Capps took off after the SUV, which exited the 10 at Tippencanoe Avenue in San Bernardino and headed north. As other police agencies joined the pursuit, the plan was for Capps — other pursuing cops were in civilian-looking cars — to stop the vehicle.

He switched his emergency lights on, but the SUV didnt stop. Capps saw the driver and passenger putting on vests.

Hundreds of bullets, no regrets

The SUV turned east onto San Bernardino Avenue. Its rear window shattered as bullets flew toward cops.

'I hear a loud bang and I see Andys car kind of swerve to … the left, and I could tell that the (suspects) rear windshield was gone,' Ryan Schuelke said.

About four hours after the attack, the SUV slammed on its brakes near Richardson Street in a neighborhood roughly two miles from the IRC.

Farook came out shooting as Malik fired from inside. Using the Pathfinders doors and engine block as cover, the Schuelkes — about 80 yards from the SUV — joined other police in returning fire.

'I was pissed. I was mad. I wanted to get in the fight,' Gary Schuelke said. 'I wanted to stop this person from shooting at us.'

Leaving the Pathfinder, Ryan Schuelke said he 'couldnt hear anything at first.'

'While Im trying to engage Syed, all of a sudden I start hearing whizzing by my head and then cracking on a loud wall.'

'I dont hear anything else other than that … (My) body just instinctively let me know that I was being shot at by' Malik.

He stopped shooting at Farook and redirected his fire at Malik. He saw two shots strike her. Maliks shoulders pitched forward as she bent at the waist and fell to her left and out of sight.

He moved to his dad, who was taking cover behind a wall, and handed him the AR-15. As he shot, Gary Schuelke saw Farook buckle at the waist and fall back.

'Once he got on the ground, I stopped shooting and was just watching to see what he was doing,' Gary Schuelke said. 'I see him bring his right leg up like hes going to try and stand up, so I put my sight on him and fired some more rounds, hoping to keep him from getting up.'

'I look up and all I can see is a pair of hands. No face, no head, no nothing. Just hands coming up in the back window … that was Tashfeen shooting out the back window at us.'

During the firefight, an officer next to Gary Schuelke fired a 12-gauge shotgun.

'I remember going, ‘Oh man in my left ear, and I had some hearing loss in my left ear from it,' Gary Schuelke said. To this day, that ear has tinnitus; the other has slight hearing loss.

Gunshots faded to silence. Inside the SUV lay Maliks lifeless body, clad in tactical gear, with a rifle strapped to her chest.

'When they called the cease fire, thats when the smells were more apparent,' Ryan Schuelke said. 'That burnt gunpowder.'

A motorized battering ram known as 'the Rook' probed the vehicle in case it was booby trapped. Later that day, the Schuelkes walked up to the SUV.

'The most eerie thing about it is the windshield wipers were going' back and forth, Gary Schuelke said.

Twenty-four law enforcement officers from various agencies fired at least 440 rounds from rifles, shotguns and handguns. Farook and Malik discharged at least 81 in a firefight that lasted about five minutes.

Farook was shot 27 times. At least 15 bullets hit Malik. Two wounded cops survived.

Inside the SUV, police found more than 2,300 rounds of ammunition, medical supplies and a trigger device for the pipe bombs.

Afterward, the idea that father and son could both have died — or watched the other die — didnt sit well with Gary Schuelkes superiors.

'Its one of my most proud moments as a law enforcement officer, being in there with my son and doing what we did,' he said.

Now 55, Gary Schuelke retired in 2022 after 30 years on the force. He has traveled the country with survivors of the attack and fellow officers to talk with law enforcement agencies about the lessons of that day.

After retiring in 2018, Madden, now 58, became a private contractor for the Institute for Intergovernmental Research, a nonprofit organization that helps law enforcement. He teaches under the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training Program, speaking with first responders across the U.S. about what to do in a Dec. 2-like scenario.

Ryan Schuelke, now 36 and with Cathedral City police, has no regrets about his actions that day. 

'I dont really know that I would have done anything differently,' he said. 'I was glad I jumped in the car with him. I wouldnt take that back for anything.'

Staff Writer Beau Yarbrough contributed to this report.

The nonprofit Incredible Edible Community Garden planned to create 15 gardens: one for each person killed and one for survivors. Seven were completed in memory of those who died.

Here’s a list of those gardens, and other public memorial sites in the region.

' Also see: Why did the 2015 San Bernardino mass shooting happen?

Memorials

Curtain of Courage Memorial

Where: San Bernardino County Government Center, 385 N. Arrowhead Ave., San Bernardino

Details: Fourteen bronze alcoves in the shape of protective curtains comprise the memorial on the centers east promenade. Victims families picked the glass colors for each alcove. A personalized phrase can be seen on each bench inside an alcove. Landscape architect and artist Walter Hood created the memorial, which opened in 2022.

Peace Garden

Where: Cal State San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino

Details: The garden is on the south side of the Chemical Sciences Building and features five benches, five boulders, five trees and a bell atop a five-sided pedestal. Each year, a Day of Remembrance is hosted in the garden and the bell is tolled 14 times. Five of those killed were alums of the universitys Department of Biology and Department of Health Science.

Community gardens

Bennetta Betbadal

Where: Pikes Peak Park, 97 Sixth St., Norco

Details: Named for Bennetta Betbadal, who died in the attack. It has 14 trees to represent all the victims. A jacaranda tree, Betbadals favorite, is included. The design features a heart within a heart. It features a meditation bench in the shape of a book. After her death, her husband carried out their plan to move from Rialto to Norco.

Daniel Kaufman

Where: Alec Fergusson Park, 2395 W. Sunrise Drive, Rialto

Details: Named for Daniel Kaufman, who died in the attack. The grove is designed in the shape of an infinity sign and includes a silk floss tree, which was Kaufmans favorite. Two meditation benches and plaques about his interests complete the park.

Harry 'Hal' Bowman

Where: San Antonio Park, 2393 N. Mountain Ave., Upland

Details: Named for Harry 'Hal' Bowman, who died in the attack. It has 14 trees to represent all the victims, an olive tree planted by Bowmans family and a meditation bench. Three butterfly bushes, lavender and lantana flowering plants celebrate his love of flowers, butterflies and gardening.

Nicholas Thalasinos

Where: Corner of Mount Vernon Avenue and M Street, Colton

Details: Named for Nicholas Thalasinos, who died in the attack. It has 21 trees, including three olive trees that surround a gabion, a container for rocks that is part of Jewish bereavement practices.

Mike Wetzel

Where: MacKay Park, 29119 Hospital Road, Lake Arrowhead

Details: Named for Mike Wetzel, who died in the attack. The grove has 26 trees, with 14 making up the border of a path to represent the victims. Wetzels tree has yellow flowers; the rest have pink flowers. A playground, boulder-climbing area, picnic tables and a horseshoes area complete the park.

Yvette Velasco

Where: San Sevaine Park, 5440 Cherry Ave., Fontana

Details: Named for Yvette Velasco, who died in the attack. It has four redbuds for the four Velasco daughters, two olive trees to represent their parents, 13 golden rains for the 13 other attack victims and a pine oak in the center for Velasco. A labyrinth takes visitors to the groves center. A meditation bench is surrounded by yellow roses because yellow was her favorite color. Smooth river rocks have messages from family and friends.

Isaac Amanios

Where: San Sevaine Park, 5440 Cherry Ave., Fontana

Details: Named for Isaac Amanios, who died in the attack. Designed like an English Garden, it has four quadrants. At the center are trees from Eritrea, an African country that is the familys homeland, to honor his relatives. There are four meditation benches and 14 trees representing the victims.

Sources: Cal State San Bernardino, Incredible Edible Community Garden, San Bernardino County

The annual campaign, sponsored by the Daily Breeze and the Press-Telegram, in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of both Long Beach and L.A. Harbor. For 20 years, the Daily Breeze has collected donated sports balls to give to children at the Boys & Girls Club of L.A. Harbor, serving the San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City, Lomita, Harbor Gateway and Gardena communities. The P-T joined in about five years ago, collecting balls for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach.

And the two papers are once again joining forces this year — trying to collect at least 2,500 balls for each organization.

But this year is different. That’s because the Breeze and the P-T are feeling the loss of a fundamental member of the Let’s Play Ball team ' Marilyn James.

James died on Dec. 10, 2024, and this will be the first year the ball drive will happen without her. She worked as the sales support/special sections manager for the Daily Breeze, with Southern California News Group, since the campaign’s inception — and took it on as a passion project.

'Marilyn organized that whole thing, from the ads to collecting, to thanking, to delivering,' said Leslie Linderman, former ad director for the Breeze. 'Without her, I don’t think it would have done as well and I don’t know if anybody would have taken it on with such passion and confidence.'

But it wasn’t just the ball drive that made James indispensable.

'She wore many hats and the one thing that we’ve realized after her passing (is) she handled so many things that nobody even knew about,' said Julie Corlette, events and marketing manager with SCNG. 'The ball drive was really something very near and dear to her heart and I realize after having to kind of take over that role this year for her that there’s way more to it than I ever ever knew.'

James was always coming up with new ideas on how to make the campaign more successful, Corlette said, like bringing in the Rams mascot one year to deliver the balls to the Boys & Girls Clubs.

'Marylin was a force of nature,' said Tom Bray, senior editor for SCNG’s Los Angeles County editions, including the Breeze and the P-T. 'She was nimble and forward-thinking and solved most problems before the rest of us even knew there was a challenge.'

She has already been missed this year, Corlette said, noting the challenges she has faced when organizing the ball drive for the first time.

'She was the glue,' Corlette said. 'She was kind of one of the unsung heroes. She was behind the scenes to make it all work and now theres just a hole.'

The Daily Breeze and P-T staff is working to fill James shoes this year and reach the goal of 5,000 combined sports balls for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Long Beach and L.A. Harbor. In addition to balls, people can also donate money for the sports, fitness and recreation programs at the organizations.

Drop off locations are scattered across the L.A. Harbor and Long Beach areas, including a number of Big 5 Sporting Goods stores. Those who donate at participating Big 5 locations will receive a 25% discount for any regular priced sports ball that is donated, excluding golf and tennis balls.

'Marilyn was the face of the paper,' Linderman said. 'It was a shock when she passed and she is very missed.'

Lets Play Ball

The Let’s Play Ball campaign benefits both the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the LA Harbor. Here’s where you can donate.

Long Beach area:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beachs main office, 3635 Long Beach Blvd., 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday.
• Big 5 Sporting Goods: 4780 Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, and 5247 Lakewood Blvd., Lakewood, during store hours. Big 5 will provide 25% off any regularly priced sports balls, except golf balls and tennis balls, that customers buy to donate to the Play Ball campaign.
• Phil Tranis Restaurant, 3490 Long Beach Blvd.
• Boathouse on the Bay Restaurant, 190 Marina Drive, Long Beach.
• First Bank locations: 4040 Atlantic Ave., Bixby Knolls; 5195 Lakewood Blvd., Lakewood; 6200 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach.
• 9Round Kickbox & Fitness Center, 6502 E. Spring St.
• Watch Me! Sports Bar, 6527 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach.

You can also donate money or purchase balls or other items off the Long Beach clubs Amazon wish list. To do so, click on bgclub.org/Joy. For more information, email Kari Cho, vice president of marketing and development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach, at karic@bgclublb.org, or or call 562-595-5945.

South Bay:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of L.A. Harbor locations: 1200 S. Cabrillo Ave., San Pedro (send Amazon orders to this address); 100 W. Fifth St., Port of LA; 1444 W. Q St., Wilmington; 1220 W. 256th St., Harbor City, and 802 W. Gardena Blvd., Harbor Gateway.
• Big 5 Sporting Goods: 529 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro; 2745 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance; 17542 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, and 2515 E. El Segundo Blvd., El Segundo. Big 5 will provide 25% off any regularly priced sports ball, except golf balls and tennis balls, that customers buy to donate to the Play Ball campaign.
• First Bank locations: 21503 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, and 1644 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Gardena.

One final note: Were always looking for more drop-off locations, whether a sports bar, a restaurant or even a retail store. To become a drop-off location, email Rich Archbold at rarchbold@scng.com and Coastal Cities Editor Chris Haire at chaire@scng.com.

With a runway of smoking-hot coals laid out before them, residents in San Pedro Manrique, Spain, steel themselves as thousands of onlookers cheer them on. The crowd roars when they walk across the fire, sometimes carrying another person on their back.

Although the walkers and the crowd perform very different roles during the annual June ritual, they report similar feelings: an ineffable feeling of togetherness, as if the entire group becomes one, said Dimitris Xygalatas, a cognitive anthropologist at the University of Connecticut, who witnessed the Spanish ritual years ago as a researcher.

He has experienced similar feelings in a stadium while chanting and cheering together with 30,000 fans of his hometown soccer team. Both are instances of collective effervescence, said Xygalatas, author of 'Rituals: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living.'

Its that feeling that happens when people engage together in a meaningful activity that sparks positive emotions. Such as when you get goose bumps at a concert, feel the rush of adrenaline in group exercise classes or get swept up in religious festivals.

Recently, collective effervescence has been referred to as 'we mode,' and its something that can be cultivated to improve your life, said Kelly McGonigal, a Stanford University health psychologist.

'When you are connected through shared positive emotion, expressions often act as this aerosolized joy, where you catch other peoples smiles, laughter, their physical expressions,' McGonigal said. 'It becomes contagious.'

When hearts beat as one

'We mode' has also been called physiological synchrony, and McGonigal calls it 'collective joy.' The concept was documented more than a century ago by French sociologist Emile Durkheim, who described cultural effervescence after studying aboriginal Australian societies.

Xygalatas research has focused on measuring it in various group activities. To quantify 'autonomic responses,' he has fitted people with heart monitors and electrodes and extracted thousands of stills from videos to analyze facial expressions.

He found that peoples physiological responses synchronize during exciting events. The heartbeats of sports fans who attend a game, for instance, sync up, while those of fans watching the same game on TV dont. Fans at the game also have higher levels of endorphins, which have been linked to bonding, he said.

On a basic level, collective rituals involve meeting and connecting with people, which is a key to psychological well-being, Xygalatas noted.

'If we all dress alike and we move alike and we feel alike, we express the same emotions that trigger mechanisms in our brain,' Xygalatas said. 'Theres a fundamental need for synchrony.'

Activities that create ‘we mode

What kinds of activities should you look for to tap into 'we mode'? McGonigal, who has studied the science of emotion and wrote 'The Joy of Movement' about the emotional benefits of exercise, named these criteria:

The activity must be in person. McGonigal noted that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, people who tried to recreate positive interactions online found it more difficult than in person.

'If youre not physically present with people, a lot of the signals that create the shared state, they just arent there,' she said.

It also helps to make noise and move your body, whether you cheer, applaud, move, dance or sing. McGonigal said youre more likely to feel this kind of collective joy when youre dancing with people than when youre sitting in a theater watching a dance performance.

Also, try to let go of shame or self-consciousness, and get into the activity. Passive observers dont get the same effect, McGonigal said.

'Youve got to do the wave at the sporting event,' she said. 'If youre at a group exercise class, and your instructor is like, ‘Can I get a whoop, whoop? You gotta whoop, whoop.'

Albert Stumm writes about wellness, food and travel. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com