Governor Andrew Cuomo has renewed a call for federal gun control measures after a shooting in San Bernardino, California left at least 14 dead and more than a dozen others injured Wednesday.
In a statement, Cuomo said "it is well past time for federal gun control" and that Congress "must find the political will to act."
"Too many innocent lives have been cut short, and yet Congress still has not been moved to act," Cuomo's statement reads, in part. "Here, we are all stunned and are once again calling for attention to the endless list of families who have buried their loved ones. How can we rationalize this kind of inaction as 33,000 people are killed every year in the nation due to gun-related violence?"
FBI investigators in California say it's too early to tell if the shooting is a terrorist event, but they say it is something they are looking into after two suspects linked to the attack were killed in a shootout with police.
Officials say police shot and killed a male and female suspect in a dark-colored SUV in a gun battle that took place about two miles away from the initial shooting. Officials say both were wearing assault-style clothing and were armed with assault rifles and handguns.
A third person was taken into custody at that scene, but police are trying to figure out if that person in connected to the shooting.
Gunfire erupted at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California around 11 a.m. local time Wednesday (2 p.m. New York time). The building serves as a social service center for the disabled.
Police say as many as three people opened fire on a banquet held in a conference room and then took off.
Potential explosives were also found when police moved in.
The investigation led officers to a home in the nearby city of Redlands, where they saw an SUV matching the description of a vehicle that was seen leaving the scene after the shooting. Officers are now working to secure that scene as well.
"There was a pursuit of that vehicle, and eventually, that pursuit came back to San Bernardino Avenue between Mountain View and Richardson here in the city of San Bernardino, where the suspect vehicle stopped and there was an officer-involved shooting," said San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan.
"We're concerned about packages in the SUV," said San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon. "There was a pipe bomb discovered at some point in the dispute that was rendered safe and was not a pipe bomb, but there are some packages and things inside that vehicle that causes us some concern, and we want to make sure it's cleared by the bomb techs before we approach."
More than a dozen other people were hurt, including a police officer who was wounded in that exchange of gunfire with the suspects. That officer is expected to survive.
Officials say it will be a marathon of an investigation, with a lot more questions to be answered.