San Bernardino shooters practiced for attack a year in advance
NBC News has learned that San Bernardino shooters Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik spent at least a year preparing for their terror attack, practicing at a local gun range and making financial plans for their family after their deaths.
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Two sources said Farook and Malik had practiced their shooting skills at a Riverside, California area gun range for a year or more before last Wednesday's attack on a holiday office party. They killed 14 people and wounded 21 more with firearms at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
Counterterrorism officials also told NBC News that Farook and Malik were making preparations for some time to "take care of both Grandma and the baby." The couple lived in a Redlands, California residence with their six-month-old daughter and Farook's 62-year-old mother, Rafia Farook. They left their daughter with Rafia on the morning of the attack,
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Investigators are examining a $28,500 deposit made to Farook's bank account in the weeks before the Dec. 2 attack.
A U.S. counterterrorism official said that he didn't have details on the transfer, but that it "would be consistent with them making preparations for grandma and the kid."
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"They had purposely thought through that problem," said the official. "There were other indications of preparations."
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Reuters reported that the loan to Farook was made by the on-line lender Prosper. In a statement, Prosper said that the company is "prohibited by law from disclosing any non-public, personally identifiable information regarding any loan originated through our platform."
"All loans originated through the Prosper platform are subject to all identity verification and screening procedures required by law, including U.S. anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws," the spokesperson said. "Like all Americans, Prosper is shocked and saddened by recent events in San Bernardino."
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