SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA — In the wake of the Wednesday morning San Bernardino Christmas party massacre, social media accounts linked to Islamic State followers praised the attackers with the hashtag #America_Burning.
According to Vocativ, one user tweeted,"Three lions made us proud. California streets are full with soldiers with heavy weapons. The United States is burning." Another posted, "Let America know a new era".
While they're probably just goading the United States in the wake of the tragedy, their comments raise a curious question: were the events on Wednesday afternoon that saw 14 people die related to the so-called Islamic State?
Authorities are still investigating and haven't ruled out terrorism, but let's consider what we know. The now dead suspects have been identified by police as 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook and 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik.
Farook reportedly worked as an environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County. He reportedly attended the party, got into a dispute and then returned with his wife — both heavily armed. And that's when the shooting started.
Co-workers of Farook's told the Los Angeles times he had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia and returned with his new wife. Both, police say, were dressed in tactical gear and heavily armed during the attack. Authorities suspect they'd prepared for the attack.
Additionally, the attack took place at a party celebrating the Christian holiday of Christmas.
From these facts, and the Tweets, it's easy to see why some are assuming the massacre is related to ISIS. And while that is a possibIlity, the answer to the question is: it's too early to tell.
Though if they are, IS may have just dealt a blow to the U.S. in the most unexpected of places — an office party.
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