Breaking: The first officially verified picture of Tashfeen Mailk has been released.
Earlier today, we brought you the latest [7] from the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California that left 14 dead and 21 injured after husband and wife Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik stormed a holiday party with assault rifles.
On Thursday, the FBI indicated that Farook may have had ties to “tangential” terrorists and the media was rife with speculation that the Chicago-born, county health inspector may have been radicalized by Malik, who he married in 2013 in Saudi Arabia.
We predicted that it wouldn’t be long before the mass media “discovered” the San Bernardino equivalent of the Syrian passport found in Paris and sure enough, earlier today, CNN reported that authorities believe Malik pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Bakr-al Baghdadi in a Facebook post as the attacks were unfolding.
Shortly thereafter, Reuters reported that Islamic State media have confirmed that the group’s followers were responsible for the attack.
Then, just when you thought the media circus might die down for the day, the landlord of the home where Farook and Malik resided pried open the “door” (which is actually a piece of plywood after the FBI stormed the home) and allowed the media to enter and rummage through everything from photos, to passports, to driver’s licenses, to the crib of the couple’s six month-old baby.
Here’s more from The LA Times [8]:
On Friday morning, reporters were allowed by a landlord to enter the apartment of Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik.
A man was seen using a crowbar to open the plywood-covered front door, allowing a rush of reporters, photographers and videographers to spill into the home.
The chaotic scene of reporters and TV cameras going through the apartment was broadcast live on news channels.
Reporters were shown on networks rifling through what appeared to be personal information, including driver's licenses. Some were shown going through photos and entering closets.
The scene had been closed off since the shooting. It was not immediately clear if law enforcement officials had allowed the apartment to be accessed.
Los Angeles Times reporter Kate Mather was among the reporters allowed in.
In the apartment, there were small black tables in the middle of the main room. On one table was a copy of the Koran.
Another table had a lengthy list of dozens of items that the FBI had seized as part of their investigation.
The list included Christmas lights, an iPhone, several boxes and bags of various types of ammunition, letters, a passport and gun accessories.
An FBI spokerperson said the bureau had "finished its investigation," but they were kind enough to leave a "receipt" documenting the items confiscated.
Here is a list of some of the ammo the FBI seized, part of a 4-page receipt left in the house. pic.twitter.com/YIsGwlny8B [9]
— Kate Mather (@katemather) December 4, 2015 [10]
Here's a clip which is largely representative of the melee:
And here are some screenshots and a few particularly egregious highlights which some social media users have described as "journalistic malpractice."
This is journalistic malpractice. pic.twitter.com/iYqglTbH8Y [11]
— Adam Goldstein (@A_H_Goldstein) December 4, 2015 [12]
And here's a clip that will likely live in media infamy:
This is what rock bottom of journalism looks like
#SanBernadino [13] pic.twitter.com/gzS6zPZBxb [14]
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) December 4, 2015 [15]
* * *
Obviously, this is an attempt to create a giant media spectacle out of the incident, which is broadly consistent with how the mainstream outlets cover all tragedies only this time around, they're exposing potential evidence.
Not only that, it doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone that now every reporter whose face was shown in the various videos inside the home will henceforth be known in the Islamic world as someone who's willing to exploit images of a child's crib for the sake of entertaining America's mindless masses. You can bet ISIS will use this very same footage to make a point in future propaganda videos.
Oh, and in case you were wondering what hangs above the couple's upstairs bathroom, the LA Times' Kate Mather has you covered:
This is above the toilet in the upstairs bathroom. pic.twitter.com/aTemzYTgAd [16]
— Kate Mather (@katemather) December 4, 2015 [17]