Baffled by the actions of her brother, one of the sisters of Syed Rizwan Farook, the Pakistani-American man suspected of the mass shooting in the US state of California, says the terrible incident was "the very opposite of what we were taught".
Saira Khan and Eba Farook, the two sisters of Syed Rizwan Farook, expressed anguish at the tragedy that has engulfed the the family and community after their brother and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik shot dead 14 people and injured 21 others on Wednesday.
They said they had seen no warning that 28-year-old Farook and his wife, Tashfeen, 27, were preparing for a deadly assault at a centre for people with disabilities in San Bernardino.
"It's the very opposite of what we were taught," Eba Farook was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
Both Eba and Saira said they were baffled by what had happened. Their brother had seemed happy with his wife and 6- month-old baby, they said.
Asked if she felt shame, Eba Farook said: "I am not ashamed to be Muslim. I am not ashamed to be American either, and I am not ashamed to be Pakistani either. I think shame is for people who feel guilty about something."
They said they had stopped watching the news.
"It's harder for us to understand, especially knowing that he was our brother and he was so happy with her," said Saira Khan, referring to Tashfeen Malik. "How can he leave his only child, you know? And how could the mother do this?"
Eba Farook, 24, said she had watched the tragedy unfold on television in fear, knowing that her brother worked for the health department and was part of a day-long gathering at the Inland Regional Center, where the attack took place.
"We were just scared - we thought maybe they were hurt or were victims," she said.
Eba said she and her husband intended to adopt the couple's 6-month-old daughter, whom they had left with Farook's mother before embarking on the rampage. The police have said that the child was taken into custody by the federal authorities working with the county's child protective services, and that there would be a hearing soon on the issue of temporary custody.
The sisters described their brother Farook as quiet and religious. "We're trying to be helpful with the investigation," Eba Farook said. "People want answers and we do as well."
The authorities say the couple assembled an arsenal of weapons in the house that they shared with Farook's mother, where they found 12 completed pipe bombs and a stockpile of thousands of rounds of ammunition. The presence of these weapons, they say, could indicate that the couple were planning more attacks.
The FBI has said that California massacre is being probed as an act of terrorism, amid reports that Tashfeen Malik who carried out the assault with her husband had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and its leader Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi on Facebook.
