Despite Democrat calls for gun control legislation that would hamper suspected or known terrorists from getting a firearm, Syed Farook, one of the identified shooters during Wednesday’s shooting in San Bernardino, was reportedly not on a federal terrorist watch list.
Fox News Channel’s Catherine Herridge reported Wednesday night on “Hannity” about Farook not being on the terror watch list before government officials released his name.
“Now, for the last three to four hours, we’ve been working on a name here at Fox News. It’s a foreign-sounding name, if you will,” Herridge said. “We were originally told that it had washed out. What we now understand is that when they ran that name against the terror watch list, they did not have any positive hits. But at this hour, we’re told that that may well be the name of one of the suspects. We’re seeking a second source on that before we broadcast that name here at Fox News.”
Only moments later was Farook’s name aired on FNC.
Farook, a U.S. citizen, passed a federal background check and legally purchased the firearms and ammunition used during Wednesday’s attack against the social services facility in San Bernardino. His wife, shooting suspect and Pakistani citizen Tashfeen Malik passed DHS counterterrorism vetting for her K-1 visa, CBS News reports. Malik was also not on a watch list.
The Senate voted down measures from both sides of the aisle that would restrict known or suspected terrorists from gaining access to a firearm. California Democrat [crscore]Dianne Feinstein[/crscore] proposed an amendment that would restrict a firearm from anybody on the watchlist.
“This is not the way we’re supposed to do things in this country,” Texas Republican Sen. [crscore]John Cornyn[/crscore] said of the California Democrat’s measure. He later said, “If you believe the federal government is omniscient and all competent vote for the Feinstein amendment.”
Cornyn proposed his own measure that would delay an individual from getting a firearm for 72 hours if that person is on the terrorist watchlist. Democrats balked at Cornyn’s measure saying it would simply tie the hands of law enforcement.
The federal government’s terrorist watchlist came under scrutiny in the past few years. In 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, otherwise known as the “underwear bomber”, boarded a commercial airliner, despite being on the terrorist watchlist and attempted to blow it up. His plan was foiled by other passengers.
A recent report out of the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General says that 73 persons should never have been hired by the Transportation Security Administration due to those individuals being on the terrorist watch list.