A month after the shooting rampage that killed 14 people, the effect of the violence on San Bernardino is still profound. But on Monday, two events helped push the city forward as it begins to rebuild in the aftermath of the second-deadliest terrorist attack in the nation’s history.
Employees were allowed to return to work for the first time at the Inland Regional Center, and they found a very different place from the one they knew before the Dec. 2 mass shooting.
A fence dotted with memorial messages kept outsiders at bay. Security guards posted at every entrance checked employee IDs. And the building where the shooting took place remained closed, its future uncertain.
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Even so, Kevin Urtz, the center’s associate executive director, said he was glad to see employees return.
“I’m happy we’re trying to get a little bit back to normal,†he said.
Later in the day, thousands of San Bernardino County employees and others filled an Ontario arena to remember the victims and honor survivors and first responders.
“I always hoped and prayed I’d never be in front of an audience like this, talking about the second-worst attack in our nation’s history,†former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, drawing comparisons to his own experience helping that city recover from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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He echoed a call he made in the days after Sept. 11, when he asked people to visit New York City, telling those gathered on Monday to encourage others to visit San Bernardino.
“Their goal was to break us, their goal was to show they’re stronger than we are,†he said. “And you defeat that goal by coming out of this as a San Bernardino that is an example to the world of how strong people can be when they love each other, when they care about each other.
“You invite people to come here, come to San Bernardino, come here, spend money here. Make something good come out of this.â€
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The county’s Department of Public Health was holding a training session and holiday party at the regional center when county employee Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 29, opened fire. They were killed hours later in a shootout with police.
County offices closed at noon so employees could attend the gathering at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.
Inside the darkened arena, choirs sang “Lean on Me†and “You’ll Never Walk Alone,†and Supervisor Josie Gonzales led the audience in a call-and-response poem titled “We Remember Them.â€
In addition to Giuliani, the crowd heard from evangelical pastor Rick Warren and other county supervisors. Gov. Jerry Brown attended the service but did not speak.
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Warren, who lost his son to suicide in 2013, spoke about the long process of grieving.
“It’s only been a month. It’s still fresh,†he said. “Right now your goal is honestly just to survive, just to survive emotionally. I came here today to tell you there will come a day that you will thrive again.â€
San Bernardino Mayor R. Carey Davis, who attended the memorial, said it “helps with the healing process.â€
“They spoke to their hearts,†he said.
Tuere Storks, who works as a preschool teaching assistant for the county, said she had reservations about attending the gathering.
As a Muslim woman who wears a hijab, she worried that she would be the target of anger. As a county employee, she worried about being the target of another attack. But the service was uplifting, she said.
“It helps us to remember to stay united,†she said.
Twenty miles away, regional center employees felt the absence of Larry Daniel Kaufman. Many of them were used to starting their day with coffee from a shop he ran.
Kaufman, who also trained some of center’s clients, was killed in the shooting.
“All of our staff knew him,†said Donaciano Meza, a program manager at the center. “He was a very important part of our daily rituals.... We will all miss him.â€
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Inland Regional Center employees coordinate services for more than 30,000 clients with developmental disabilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. After the attack, many worked remotely using iPads that were distributed to them.
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Friends and relatives of Sierra Clayborn gather for her funeral at Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in South Los Angeles.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A memorial service was held for Nicholas Thalasinos on Saturday morning at the Shiloh Messianic Congregation in Calimesa.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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A Shabbat service was part of the memorial for Nicholas Thalasinos at Shiloh Messianic Congregation in Calimesa, where Thalasinos and his wife, Jennifer, were integral parts of the congregation.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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A hired mover carries out personal items from the home of San Bernardino shooters Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Residents turn out to greet President Obama’s motorcade in San Bernardino.
(Michael Robinson Chávez / Los Angeles Times)
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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet San Bernardino Mayor R. Carey Davis, center, and Supervisor James Ramos outside Air Force One at the San Bernardino airport on Friday night.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama leave in a motorcade, after arriving at San Bernardino International Airport, to meet privately with the families of the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama depart Air Force One at San Bernardino International Airport.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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San Bernardino residents Ashrie Matthews, left, Leah Brown and James Matthews line the street to cheer the president’s motorcade.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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President Obama stopped in San Bernardino on Friday evening to privately visit with the families of some of the victims of the Dec. 2 terrorist attack. Ashrie Matthews, left, Leah Brown and James Matthews joined others to cheer as the president’s motorcade passed.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Anti-Obama protester Deann D’Lean, right, holds some of the many signs she brought to a small protest. In the background, Paul Rodriguez, Jr., with America First Latinos holds a bullhorn. Protesters were out on some San Bernardino street corners voicing their opposition to the president and Islamic State.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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People continue to visit the memorial just down the street from where the terrorist attack occurred.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Family members and friends pay their respects to Robert Adams, one of the 14 victims killed in the San Bernardino shooting, during his graveside funeral service at Montecito Memorial Park in Colton.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Summer Adams, center, grieves at the graveside ceremony for her husband, Robert Adams, at Montecito Memorial Park in Colton.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A mourner sits on the curb with her head in her hands during the graveside ceremony for San Bernardino shooting victim Robert Adams at Montecito Memorial Park in Colton.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners embrace at the funeral for Aurora Godoy at Calvary Chapel in Gardena on Wednesday. Godoy was one of 14 killed in the attack in San Bernardino on Dec. 2. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners embrace at the funeral for Aurora Godoy at Calvary Chapel in Gardena on Wednesday. Godoy was one of 14 killed in the attack in San Bernardino on Dec. 2.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners arrive for the funeral for San Bernardino shooting victim Aurora Godoy at Calvary Chapel in Gardena on Wednesday.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Shemiran Betbadal, mother of Bennetta Betbadal, is hugged by family after funeral services at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Pallbearers carry the casket of Bennetta Bet-Badal during funeral services Monday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga. Bet-Badal was one of the 14 people killed in the San Barnardino shooting rampage.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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The husband and children of Bennetta Bet-Badal hug Monday following her funeral services at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Funeral services were held for Bennetta Bet-Badal, one of the 14 people killed in the San Barnardino shooting rampage, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Funeral services were held for Bennetta Bet-Badal at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Funeral services were held for Bennetta Bet-Badal at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Twelve days after the mass shooting attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino the flowers are beginning to wilt but hugs and paryers are still in abundance.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Gwen Rodgers, assistant pastor at the Church of Living God, hugs Cindy Quinones, cousin of the slain Aurora Godoy, during a vigil at the makeshift memorial for the victims of the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, Calif.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Visitors arrive to pay their respects at the makeshift memorial outside the fenced off Inland Regional Center, in the background, the site of the deadly terrorist attacks, in San Bernardino, Calif.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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San Trinh, the longtime boyfriend of Tin Nguyen, 31, one of the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, is consoled by family members as Nguyen’s casket is loaded into a hearse at St. Barbara’s Catholic Church in Santa Ana.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Cousins of Tin Nguyen -- Trang Le, left, Tram Le and Krystal Le -- hold onto some of her personal items and cry as they watch her casket being lowered into the ground at her funeral at the Good Shepherd Cemetery in Huntington Beach.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Pallbearers stand guard over the casket of the Tin Nguyen, a Cal State Fullerton graduate, at the start of her memorial service at St. Barbara’s Catholic Church in Santa Ana.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Van Thanh Nguyen shouts her daughter’s name during her funeral at the Good Shepherd Cemetary in Huntington Beach. Tin Nguyen was 31.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Family members and friends write messages on the side of the Tin Nguyen’s burial vault.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Van Thanh Nguyen places her hand on her daughter’s casket while surrounded by friends and family.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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The casket of San Bernardino shooting victim Isaac Amanios leaves the St. Minas Orthodox Church during his funeral service in Colton.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Two women cry during Isaac Amanios’ funeral service at the St. Minas Orthodox Church in Colton. Amanios, 60, is survived by his wife and three children.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Funeral goers cry during Isaac Amanios’ service. Amanios had shared a cubicle with the male shooter at the San Bernardino County Public Health Department.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Frineds and family stand during the funeral service for Isaac Amanios.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Trenna Meins, center with daughters after the funeral for her husband Damian Meins at St. Catherine Of Alexandria in Riverside.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Pallbearers escort the casket of Damian Meins at St. Catherine of Alexandria church in Riverside.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners gather at St. Catherine Of Alexandria in Riverside on Friday morning for the funeral of Damian Meins, one of 14 people killed in the San Bernardino shooting.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Trenna Meins places a cross on her husband’s coffin. Damien Meins was killed in a terrorist attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners gather for the funeral of Damian Meins.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Community members sing Amazing Grace during a candlelight vigil for Nicholas Thalasinos and the 13 other San Bernardino shooting victims at Fleming Park in Colton, Calif.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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COLTON, CA - DECEMBER 10, 2015: Jennifer Thalasinos,middle, fights back tears during a candlelight vigil for her slain husband Nicholas Thalasinos and the 13 other San Bernardino shooting victims at Fleming Park on December 10, 2015 in Colton, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A portrait of Yvette Velasco, one of the victims of the deadly San Bernardino terrorist attacks, is placed at her funeral service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Covina, Calif.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Robert Velasco, father of Yvette Velasco, consoles a family member during Yvette’s funeral service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Covina, Calif.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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COVINA, CALIF.--December 10, 2015 - The coffin of San Bernardino shooting victim, Yvette Velasco, is carried to the hearse following a private viewing for family at Forest Lawn Mortuary in Covina, Calif.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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An FBI dive team searches a lake located about two miles north of the Inland Regional Center in connection with last week’s terrorist attack and shootout that left the two attackers and 14 victims dead.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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An FBI dive team searches a lake near the Inland Regional Center in connection with last week’s terrorist attack.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A memorial to victims of the terrorist attack in San Bernardino continues to grow near the Inland Regional Center, where the attack took place during a holiday party.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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One week after the mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, the public is posting signs of gratitude and thanks like this one found at the San Bernardino Police Department.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Family members and survivors paid their respects with a moment of silence at 11 a.m., exactly one week after the shooting occured at the Inland Regional Center.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Customers wait for the doors to open at Turner’s Outdoorsman in San Bernardino Wednesday morning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Speaking during a Dec. 8 news conference, dispatcher Michelle Rodriguez of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department becomes emotional as she recounts the events of the deadly San Bernardino attack.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Trenna Meins, right, of Riverside, hugs friends and family during a vigil t the Riverside County Health Complex for her husband, Damian Meins, and 13 others killed in the San Bernardino shooting rampage.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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On Dec. 8, people bring flowers, candles and remembrances to a memorial to the San Bernardino shooting victims near the Inland Regional Center, the scene of the attack.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Frank Cobet of the Get Loaded gun store in Grand Terrace shows a customer an AR-15 rifle on Dec. 8.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Monica Gonzales relights candles Tuesday morning at a memorial for victims of the shooting rampage in San Bernardino.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Community members and students gather for a Dec. 7 vigil on the Cal State San Bernardino campus to remember the victims of the deadly attack in the city.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Patricia Corona of Colton, Calif., holds her children, Dejah Salvato, 7, and Brandon Salvato, 9, as they attend a Dec. 7 vigil at the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors headquarters to pay tribute to the victims of the city’s recent mass shootings.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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A prayer is said at the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors headquarters to honor the victms of the city’s recent mass shootings.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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FBI agents put up a screen to block the view of onlookers as they investigate the building at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
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Syed Farook, father of the suspect in the San Bernardino mass shooting, Syed Rizwan Farook, arrives at his home to a swarm of reporters in Corona, Calif.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Roses are laid at the entrance to San Bernardino County headquarters as thousands of employees returned to work Monday, five days after Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik opened fire on a gathering of his co-workers, killing 14 people and wounding 21.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Trudy Raymundo, director the the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, is surrounded by San Bernardino County supervisors as she addresses the media during a press conference Monday.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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John Ramos of Riverside pays his respects Monday at a makeshift memorial site honoring Wednesday’s shooting victims in San Bernardino.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
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Claudia Zaragoza writes a message on a banner at the ever-growing memorial site to the victims of the recent mass shootings near the Inland Regional Center.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Caroline Campbell, from left, Jessie Campbell and Rylee Ponce embrace as they pay their respects at the ever-growing memorial site for the victims of the recent mass shootings.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Caroline Campbell embraces her son, David Malijan, 6, as they pay their respects at the ever-growing memorial site to the victims of the recent mass shootings near the Inland Regional Center.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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The Zafarullah family of Chino, originally of Pakistan, watches Obama’s address. Arshia, at left, is holding her 18-month-old nephew, Sohail Ahmed.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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One of several signs supporting the city of San Bernardino hang above the 215 Freeway on Sunday evening.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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Members of the Muslim community, such as Khadija Zadeh, lit candles and wrote messages to the families of victims of the San Bernardino shooting rampage during a memorial service at the Islamic Community Center of Redlands in Loma Linda.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Ajarat Bada prays during a memorial service at the Islamic Community Center of Redlands in Loma Linda to remember the victims of the San Bernardino shooting rampage.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Alaa Alsafadi, center, holds her son, Yousef, 4, during a memorial service at the Islamic Community Center of Redlands in Loma Linda.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Riders from the Christian Motorcycle Association in San Bernardino pray at a growing makeshift memorial for San Bernardino shooting victims near the Inland Regional Center.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A candlelight vigil dubbed “United We Stand,†took place at Granada Hills Charter High School on Saturday evening. The event was organized by Muslim Youth Los Angeles and Devonshire Area in Partnership.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Ryan Reyes, boyfriend of San Bernardino shooting victim Larry Daniel Kaufman, hugs members of Dar Al Uloom Al Islamiyah of America mosque who brought roses to a memorial at the Sante Fe Dam on Saturday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A bullet hole in the window of a pick up truck where the shootout took place on San Bernardino Avenue.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A composite photo of the 14 victims of the San Bernardino shooting rampage. (Courtesy of family / Los Angeles Times)
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People kneel in prayer for victims of the recent mass shootings at the Inland Regional Center, in San Bernardino.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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After sunset, people continue to arrive at the memorial site for the victims of the recent mass shootings at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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The scene after landlord Doyle Miller opened the doors and allowed the news media inside the Redlands town home where Syed Rizwan Farook and Tafsheen Malik, suspects of the deadly the recent mass shootings in San Bernardino, lived.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Josie Ramirez-Herndon, center, and her daughter, Chelsie Ramirez, bottom left, join other community members as they pray during a candlelight vigil.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Fabio Ahumada, a San Bernardino EMT, attends a vigil at San Manuel Stadium
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple embrace at the candlelight vigil to honor the victims of the mass shootings at the Inland Regional Center.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Angel Meler-Baumgartner 11, who was a member of the Inland Regional Center, where the shooting occurred, attends a vigil at San Manuel Stadium for the victims.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA held a press conference and prayer vigil at Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino. The group denounced the massacre.
(Michael Robinson Chávez / Los Angeles Times)
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Amy Mahmood, right, holds hands with a woman named Shenaz during the vigil at San Manuel Stadium.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Ryan Reyes, center, breaks down after finding out his boyfriend of three years, Daniel Kaufman, 42, was one of those killed during Wednesday’s mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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Ryan Reyes holds an image of his boyfriend Daniel Kaufman who was confirmed as one of the 14 victims of Wednesday’s mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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Larry Jones, left, pastor of Crossover Outreach Church; Dr. Jeannetta Million, pastor of Victoria’s Believers Church; and Arnold Morales, pastor of King of Glory Church, pray for the victims and those involved in the mass shooting in San Bernardino.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A coalition of church leaders comes together to pray for the victims and those involved in the San Bernardino shootings.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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FBI investigators inside the suspects’ Redlands home on Thursday morning.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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The investigation continues Thursday morning on San Bernardino Avenue, where two suspects in the mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center died in a shootout with police.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Law enforcement stands guard at a police line as investigators work at a Redlands home after the San Bernardino attack.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A SWAT team stands guard with a rifle pointed at a home that is being investigated by police after today’s San Bernardino’s mass shootings.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Farhan Khan, second from right, who was identified as the brother-in-law of San Bernardino shooting suspect Syed Rizwan Farook, joins religious leaders during a news conference at the Council of American Islamic Relations in Anaheim.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies draw guns behind a minivan on Richardson St. during a search for suspects involved in the mass shooting of 14 people at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Marie Cabrera, Sonya Gonzalez and Christine Duran, all of San Bernardino, pray after the mass shooting in San Bernardino.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman and a man enter the Rudy C Hernandez Community Center after they and other people, who were at the scene of a mass shooting, arrived by bus to be reunited with their familys.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Emergency personnel bring in a wounded person into Loma University Medical Center after the shooting in San Bernardino on Wednesday.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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A SWAT unit is on the move in San Bernardino.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A member of the San Manual Fire Department takes the names of people evacuated from the scene of a mass shooting in San Bernardino before they are loaded onto buses and taken away from the area.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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Sheriff’s department SWAT members deploy on Richardson Street in San Bernardino on Wednesday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Sheriff’s department SWAT members deploy near San Bernardino Avenue and Richardson Street in San Bernardino on Wednesday.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Evacuated workers join in a circle to pray on the San Bernardino Golf Course across the street from where a shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Lavinia Johnson, the center’s executive director, said employees were happy to be back together in the office.
“It’s been a very difficult time for us and we are very glad to be back at our IRC home,†she said.
Wilson Akinmulero, a caregiver at a residential facility who works closely with many IRC employees, arrived Monday to drop off some paperwork.
He’d thought a lot about the long-term effect of the shooting on the center’s employees, he said.
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“I felt for them,†he said. “If someone can just wake up in the morning and say, ‘I’m going to work,’ and then this tragedy happens. I don’t know. It could be stuck in their brains for a long time.â€
Workers entering and leaving the center were greeted from across the road by Ron Pollakoff of San Bernardino, who stood smiling, waving and holding a sign that read: “I love you IRC.â€
Pollakoff, 41, has a developmental disability and is a client of the center. One employee visits him regularly to help with job placement and other needs, he said.
“I want to show my support. I know it’s been a hard month,†he said. “I’m just so sad that something like this would happen at a place like that.â€
Just before the lunch hour, a center employee who declined to give her name walked around the complex for exercise. “It feels good to be back,†she said.
Paloma Esquivel is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She was on the team that won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for public service for investigating corruption in the city of Bell and the team that won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for coverage of the San Bernardino terror attack. Prior to joining The Times in 2007, she was a freelance writer, worked in Spanish-language radio and was an occasional substitute teacher. A Southern California native, she graduated from UC Berkeley and has a master’s in journalism from Syracuse University.