The motives behind a mass-shooting attack that left 14 dead and 17 injured in San Bernardino on Wednesday remain unclear, The New York Times reported. The attackers, identified as Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married or engaged couple, were killed during a confrontation with police. A third person was taken into custody, but authorities are uncertain as to whether the individual was involved in the shooting.

According to authorities, Farook and Malik gunned down their victims at a social services center for the disabled in San Bernardino, a city 60 miles east of Los Angeles, with assault rifles and semi-automatic pistols. The attack was said to have been planned in advance and terrorism has not been ruled out as a motive.

Mr. Farook, an environmental inspector, had been employed with the county health department for five years. On Wednesday morning he attended a holiday party for the department at the Inland Regional Center, a sprawling facility that provides services for thousands of people with disabilities. He left “angry” after a dispute of some sort, the chief said, and returned with Ms. Malik around 11 a.m. — heavily armed.

“There had to be some degree of planning that went into this,” Chief Burguan said. “I don’t think they just ran home and put on these tactical clothes.”

He said the motive had not been determined. “We have not ruled out terrorism,’’ he said.

According to The Los Angeles Times, the suspects left their six-month-old daughter with Farook’s mother, claiming that they had a doctor’s appointment.

Farook’s father described his son as “very religious” to the New York Daily News. Co-workers added that Farook had recently returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia.

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