President Barack Obama opened his Christmas vacation on a somber note: Meeting with families of the 14 people who were killed in the San Bernardino shootings.
Obama stopped in California en route to Hawaii on Friday for his annual holiday getaway.
First lady Michelle Obama joined him for the meetings at Indian Springs High School, just a short drive from the airport where Air Force One landed after the cross-country flight from Washington.
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“It was so moving for Michelle and myself in part because it was so representative of the country,” the president told reporters after the meetings. “You had people from every background, every faith … Despite the pain and the heartache that they’re feeling, they could not have been more inspiring, and more proud of their loved ones, and more insistent that something good comes out of this tragedy.”
Authorities identified the shooters as American-born Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 29, of Pakistan. Both were killed in a shootout with police. The FBI is investigating the case as an act of terrorism. The couple pledged allegiance to a leader of the Islamic State group on Facebook, moments before the shooting, authorities said. But they have found no evidence that the Farook and Malik were carrying out instructions from an overseas terrorist group or that they were part of a U.S.-based conspiracy. Most of the 14 people killed at the holiday banquet Dec. 2 worked with Farook in the San Bernardino County public health department. Nine men and five women, ranging in age from 26 to 60, were killed. This article first appeared on NBCNews.com.
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