Though Tashfeen Malik reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS before she and her husband carried out the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wednesday, the Obama administration still refuses to call the tragedy that left 14 people dead and 21 more wounded a terror attack.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest discussed the ongoing investigation into the mass shooting during a press briefing Friday. When asked whether the White House views the incident as a terror attack given new information about the female shooter and her ties to Islamic extremism, Earnest refused to provide a definitive answer.
“There is information that has been disseminated but I’m not going to be in a position to confirm it,” he said.
"Let me just say in general, though, in an attempt to answer your question without confirming that information, the FBI is leading this investigation as the President said yesterday because of the possibility that this is a terrorist attack.”
Earnest went on to make a point about how “determined” the President is “to get to the bottom of what transpired,” having summoned his national security adviser, the general of the FBI, and the deputy of director of Homeland Security for updates regarding the incident.
Watch the beginning of his remarks here. View the full press briefing below.