Inside the Conference Room: Witnesses Recall Scene of San Bernardino Shooting

Witnesses describe the scene inside the Inland

ByABC News
December 6, 2015, 7:17 PM

— -- The moment terror broke out inside a San Bernardino, California, conference room Wednesday is fresh in the minds of three witnesses, who gave their first-hand accounts in interviews with ABC News today.

The three witnesses offered their recollections of the room where the deadly attack took place, during a training event at the Inland Regional Center before a holiday party at the San Bernardino County Health Department.

When suspected shooters Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik burst into the room, they came in from the left, blowing out the windows with rifle fire, and at least one survivor jumped through the shattered windows, witnesses said.

One of the first tables the shooters encountered was Farook's, according to witness accounts. Farook, who worked for the county for five years in the health department, attended the event that morning, sitting at the back of the room with his back to the wall, said witnesses.

Farook left shortly after the event began -- just after 8 a.m, according to witnesses. Two people seated at the table recalled Farook leaving a coat and a bag.

When Farook later returned to his table with his wife, several people at the table were killed.

The room had about eight tables seating about eight people each, witnesses said. At the front of the room was a projector with workshop materials. To the screen's right was a table where the supervisors sat, including the head and deputy head of the division.

Across the room from where the shooters entered were the bathrooms where several survivors took shelter. The bullets still ripped through the drywall, but their velocity had slowed enough that when they hit people hiding inside, they only lodged just beneath the skin.

Fourteen people were killed and 21 people were also injured during the shooting rampage, which is being investigated as an act of terrorism.

"It's remarkable to think there were upwards of 70-plus people in that room when this happened," San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told ABC News Saturday. "The casualties are a tragedy. Our hearts go out to them. But the fact that so many people did escape is remarkable."