Police: No credible threat to Philadelphia following San Bernardino shooting

ByChristie Ileto WPVI logo
Thursday, December 3, 2015
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Action News spoke with Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and a former FBI agent in the wake of the shooting in San Bernardino, California.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Action News spoke with Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and a former FBI agent in the wake of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.

The shooting left 14 dead, and more than a dozen others injured.

Ramsey said he is monitoring the situation and getting alerts from a central command center.

The head of counterterrorism for the Philadelphia Police Department says there are no specific or credible threats against the city.

However, there were extra patrols put in place Wednesday night on the streets of Center City.

Retired FBI special agent J.J. Klaver tells Action News, based on his experience, it's likely the shooting wasn't random.

"It looks like this was something that seemed fairly organized and planned, and they seemed very prepared," said Klaver.

Klaver spent 26 years working for the FBI.

The FBI has confirmed two suspects - one male and one female - are dead. A third person, seen running away from the scene of a shootout between the suspects and police, has been detained.

"This location was targeted for some reason. This was not a random event," said Klaver. "I think as the investigation unfolds, it's probably pretty likely that you're gonna see some relationship between these people, the reason why they targeted it, and why this was chosen and why the event unfolded."

Ramsey tells Action News you can never fully prepare for an incident of this magnitude.

Still, Klaver says connecting the dots start with the evidence at the crime scene.

"You have to get basic information, and try and paint an early picture of what happened and who these suspects are," said Klaver.

Ramsey expressed his frustration with the number of mass shootings in the United States.

"It doesn't seem to matter anymore, it's a soft target, and I don't think the people who do these kind of things necessarily think about that sort of things, it's whatever they can do to create a lot of havoc, kill people. It's just a terrible situation we find ourselves in today. Something's got to happen to change this," Ramsey said.

Despite no credible threats, the Philadelphia police are constantly training for an active shooter situation.