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Posted: 2015-12-03T22:18:42Z | Updated: 2015-12-04T19:38:01Z These Are The Victims Of The San Bernardino Shooting | HuffPost

These Are The Victims Of The San Bernardino Shooting

On Thursday afternoon, officials began identifying the 14 people killed.
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Late Wednesday morning, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik  stormed a holiday party at a San Bernardino, California, social services facility, slaughtering 14 people and wounding another 21. As authorities work to determine the shooters' motives , the San Bernardino County Coroner's office released the names of all the victims on Thursday afternoon. 

“This shooting has caused each victims family, friends and co-workers, along with the first responders, to suffer an enormous personal tragedy," San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said in the release. "We must stand strong and offer support to each individual affected by this senseless attack.” 

Here's what we know so far about those who lost their lives at the Inland Regional Center: 

Nicholas Thalasinos
Jennifer Thalasinos via Facebook
Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, pictured here with his wife, Jennifer, was a health inspector who moved to California from New Jersey, a friend told Philly.com . He had worked for San Bernardino's Department of Health for 12 or 13 years, his wife told ABC7 . She said they had met online and were both Messianic Jews. Thalasinos and shooter Syed Farook were friendly and belonged to the same "little group" of colleagues, The New York Times reported.

Thalasinos was attending the holiday party at the Inland Regional Center building when Farook and Tashfeen Malik stormed the conference room, a friend posted on Facebook . His wife confirmed his death on Twitter late Wednesday. A friend paid homage to him on Facebook , saying he was one of the "nicest, honest, and godly men I know. I'm going to miss our talks and him calling to check on me almost everyday." Another friend wrote on Facebook , "I remember him caring about those who were less fortunate than himself."
Michael Wetzel
Youcaring.com
Michael Raymond Wetzel, 37, worked as the supervising environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County, his LinkedIn page says. Early Wednesday, Wetzel's wife Renee posted a cry for help on Facebook . "My husband was in the meeting where the shooting happened," she wrote. "I have not been able to get in touch with him. Please please pray that he is ok."

A family spokesperson confirmed his death to ABC7 . The Church of the Woods in Arrowhead, California, also posted the news on Thursday. Wetzel leaves behind six children. Friends created a YouCaring crowdfunding page in order to help his family.

"Michael was the most amazing person. He was my best friend and an incredible father who was loved by all. He loved his work and his family so very much. Without him, this family will never be the same," Renee said in a statement to HuffPost. Celia Behar, who knows Wetzel's wife through a support group for mothers they are both involved in, provided the statement.
L. Daniel Kaufman
Daniel Kaufman via Facebook
L. Daniel Kaufman, 42, was from Rialto, California. He ran the coffee shop inside the building in which the shooting took place, his boyfriend Ryan Reyes told the Los Angeles Times . Reyes waited for 22 hours to discover Kaufman's fate. He could not find Kaufman at any of the nearby hospitals or at the community center where families were reuniting with survivors. He finally learned Thursday morning that Kaufman had passed.

"Daniel, we all love you so much and will miss you until the end of time," a friend wrote on Facebook . "He was a funny, vibrant, fun loving guy who was always smiling," another friend wrote .
Damian Meins
Damian Meins via Facebook
Damian Meins, 58, of San Pedro, California , had only been working for San Bernardino County for a short period of time. Previously, he was a physical education teacher at St. Catherine's School in Riverside, according to a Facebook post from a former student. Meins was a "bright light" that has been "extinguished from our world in a most tragic way," said an email to employees from the Riverside County Transportation & Land Management Agency, reported in the Los Angeles Times .
Sierra Clayborn
Sierra Clayborn
Sierra Clayborn, 27, was an environmental health specialist for the county . People magazine reported shed been with the county for almost two years.

A relative confirmed her death with the magazine and her sister Tamishia Claiborne mourned her death on Facebook. RIP Baby sis I love you more than you ever knew, she wrote. My heart is broken."
Bennetta Bet-Badal
GoFundMe
Bennetta Bet-Badal, 46, was married and the mother of three children, ages 10, 12 and 15, according to an online campaign to raise money for her family. That site said she was born in Iran but fled to the United States at 18 to escape persecution of Christians.

She majored in chemistry at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona before taking a job with the San Bernardino County health department as an inspector.

She loved her job, her community and her country. Her greatest love, however, was for her husband, her children and her large extended family," the GoFundMe page for her family says.
Isaac Amanios
Twitter
Isaac Amanios, 60, lived in Fontana, California. His cousin Nat Berhe, who plays safety for the New York Giants football team, tweeted that Isaac was a great human being.

The Los Angeles Times reported that he was married and had three adult children.
Aurora Godoy
Aurora Godoy, 26, was a San Bernardino County employee, according to public records . A fundraiser to help the family pay for memorial costs has been started on GoFundMe .
Yvette Velasco
Yvette Velasco, 27, worked for San Bernardino County, according to public records .
Shannon Johnson
Shannon Johnson, 45, had been an environmental specialist for 10 years, according to KABC-TV .
Robert Adams
Robert Adams, 40, was married to his high school sweetheart and had a 20-month-old daughter, according to The Los Angeles Times .
Tin Nguyen
Tin Nguyen came to America from Vietnam when she was just 8 years old. She earned a degree in health sciences from Cal State Fullerton, and spent more than four years screening restaurants as a county health inspector.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the 31-year-old Santa Ana resident and her longtime boyfriend San Trinh had planned to get engaged next year .

"She was excited about trying on her wedding dress," her uncle Phu Nguyen told Newsday .

A fundraiser has been launched on GoFundMe to pay for funeral and memorial costs.
Juan Espinoza
Juan Espinoza, 50, of Highland, California, earned a bachelor's degree in science from Cal State San Bernardino and worked as a health inspector in San Bernardino County.

He was just a really hard worker, his daughter Jerusalem Espinoza-Mendoza told The Press Enterprise. He was very fair. He was just very honest.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Espinoza is also survived by a wife and a son .
Harry A. Bowman
Shutterstock / T.W. van Urk
Raised in York, Pennsylvania, Harry A. Bowman moved to California more than 15 years ago. The 46-year-old lived in Upland and worked as a statistical analyst with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health's Division of Environmental Health Services, The Press Enterprise reported.

Bowman leaves behind two daughters , ages 11 and 15, his mother told The Los Angeles Times.

This post has been updated with a statement from Sheriff John McMahon. 

 

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