A mass shooting in California Wednesday left at least 14 people dead and more than a dozen wounded. Multiple gunmen stormed the Inland Regional Center, which offers services to adults with developmental disabilities.
READ MORE: Multiple victims after shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.
The website for the San Bernardino-area centre was overwhelmed by the incident and temporarily went down. Meanwhile, the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the centre remained filled with posts of smiling staff and the people they help.
The social media accounts’ most recent posts are from the day before the shooting, Dec. 1, when the centre held a holiday party. Posts show people posing with Santa and videos of people dancing, some in wheelchairs.
“Inland Regional Center was built on the foundation of three core values – independence, inclusion, and empowerment,” the centre’s Facebook page says.
“In following these core values, we hope to help provide each individual with a service system that helps identify and eliminate barriers for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families so they can closely live a typical lifestyle.”
The centre’s description says its purpose is to work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities on a personal, one-on-one level “to make their lives better as they define it.”
The centre has 670 staff and serves more than 30,200 people.
The gunmen fled the area in an SUV, and two later died in a shootout with police. Another person believed to be a suspect was captured by police. No word yet on a motive for the attack.
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