At least 14 people have been killed on Wednesday after a shooting at a social services center in San Bernardino, California.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. Officials warned that the scene is "very active" and police were searching for up to three suspects, believed to have fled the scene.
"It quickly became clear we had an active shooter situation," San Bernadino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“We do not know where the suspects are. They came prepared as if they were on a mission,” he said.
Agents with the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are currently pursuing the suspects, who were said to be wearing tactical gear and armed with "long guns."
Chief Burguan said the attackers motives were unclear.
"They came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission," he added. "They came with a purpose."
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Police are searching for an SUV that fled the scene and have also detonated a suspicious device found on the premises, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Terry Petit received a text from his daughter as gunfire erupted inside her employers' building.
"People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office," he said, reading her text messages to reporters, told the Associated Press.
The Inland Regional Center employs 670 staff members who provide services to more than 30,000 developmentally disabled people who live in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
President Barack Obama has been updated on the situation, as was California Governor Jerry Brown.
