Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

San Bernardino shooting: Brother of gunman Syed Raheel Farook wrongly identified as shooter 'is in fact a navy veteran'

Syed Raheel Farook won several 'awards and decorations' for his service in the US Navy between 2003 and 2007

Tom Brooks-Pollock
Friday 04 December 2015 10:28 GMT
Comments
Syed Raheel Farook
Syed Raheel Farook (Facebook)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The brother of the San Bernardino gunman who was incorrectly identified by some media as the shooter in the immediate aftermath of the massacre is a decorated military veteran with same first name as his sibling.

Syed Raheel Farook was wrongly named as one of the two killers in the hours following last Wednesday’s mass shooting, which police say was carried out by his brother, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and sister-in-law, Tashfeen Malik, 27.

The assault on a Christmas party at a social service centre in southern California left 14 people dead and 21 injured. The FBI has taken over the investigation into the mass killing and are looking into whether it was terrorist-related.

Not only were reports of his involvement incorrect, but Syed Raheel Farook is a veteran of the United States Navy – serving for four years between 2003 and 2007 – who won several “awards and decorations,” a spokesman told BuzzFeed News.

The website reports that Mr Farook was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and a Good Conduct Medal.

Mr Farook, a surface warfare specialist, was an information system technician, third class and on the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, in the Surface Warfare Officer School Unit and at the Recruit Training Command.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in