(CNSNews.com) – The brother-in-law of one of the suspected shooters responsible for killing 14 people at a social services center in San Bernardino, Calif. said at a brief press conference hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Anaheim Wednesday night that he was “shocked that something like this happened here.”
Farhan Khan is married to the sister of Syed Farook. Farook, a U.S. citizen, is named as one of the suspects in the deadly shooting.
Hours after the shooting, police said a man and a woman armed with assault rifles and wearing dark clothing were killed in a shootout with officers after a police pursuit.
CAIR-LA executive director Hussam Ayloush said Khan would not speak to the media about the individuals concerned, but had come to share his family’s sorrow.
“At this point I’d rather he speaks to law enforcement and shares anything that he knows before we make it to the media, out of respect for the victims, and the investigation that is ongoing,” he said.
“It’s unbelievable what happened,” Khan said. “I’m deeply sad and shocked that something like this happened here, in my community. I love this country, I’m living in this community for a long time, and something like this happened here.”
“On behalf of my family, we all are shocked and very sorry for what happened,” he said. “We all are just completely shocked, we had no idea that something like this could happen.”
Khan said his family was saddened that “somebody lost husband and wife, probably kids, I don’t know.”
“I don’t have words to express how sad and how devastated I am.”
In a statement of behalf of CAIR, Ayloush said, “We condemn this horrific and revolting attack and offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed or injured.”
“The Muslim community stands shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Americans in repudiating any twisted mindset that would claim to justify such sickening acts of violence.”