San Bernardino California health department chief Trudy Raymundo speaking to news media about the December 2 shootings that killed 14 people, 12 of whom were county health employees.
SAN FRANCISCO—The Filipino American chief of San Bernardino County, California’s health department was at the Christmas party of her department’s Environmental Health Services division an hour before the December 2 massacre that killed 14 people, 12 of whom were county employees.
Trudy Raymundo, director of the county’s public health department, had been at the party held at the Inland Regional Center where the attackers– Syed Rizwan Farook, a division employee, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik — opened fire at the revelers.
“They were upbeat, they were happy, they were learning from each other, which is indicative of what this group has always been,” Raymundo told news media.
Raymundo said she arrived to a party filled with camaraderie and good spirits. “I want to make it clear that this is a very tight, close-knit group. They have always supported each other. They are beyond co-workers. They are friends and they are family. They are tight and we are holding onto each other right now.”
Raymundo thanked law enforcement and medical personnel who responded to the emergency and asked the public to join in mourning “the loss of our colleagues, of our friends, of our families and our loved ones.” she said. “I ask that you come together and hold each other strong, because it is this strength that will help us heal. And I want you to every day be grateful for those of us that were spared.”
Ironically, a year ago, employees of the county’s Environmental Health Services division attended an “active-shooter training” in the very room at the Inland Regional Center where the bloody terrorist attack took place.
Staff members in Farook’s division will return to work next week, but other county departments reopened Monday, December 7. County officials pledged to ramp up security measures.
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