--- description: 'I'll take a bullet before you do, that's for damn sure.' title: Cop Vowed to 'Take a Bullet' as Workers Fled San Bernardino Shooting image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bec8cfdd391d446/698873938e06019fb8463955/san-bernardino1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Cop Vowed to 'Take a Bullet' to Protect Workers as They Fled the San Bernardino Shooting by [Lindsay Kimble / People](/author/people/) ## Lindsay Kimble / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2015 5:22 PM CUT  An armored police vehicle on a road near the scene of an active shooter situation near the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, CA on Dec. 2, 2015. An armored police vehicle on a road near the scene of an active shooter situation near the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, CA on Dec. 2, 2015.Doug Saunders—LANG/EPA by [Lindsay Kimble / People](/author/people/) ## Lindsay Kimble / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2015 5:22 PM CUT Video from inside the site of Wednesday’s [mass shooting](http://www.people.com/article/san-bernardino-shooting-reports-14-dead-14-injured-developmental-disability-center-conference "undefined") shows a police officer pledging to do anything to protect a group of workers as they evacuated the [Inland Reginal Center](http://www.people.com/article/san-bernardino-shooting-pastors-describe-scene-following-california-shooting "undefined"). In the clip, taken by an employee of the center, Gabi Flores, and shared by Southern California’s [KPCC](http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/12/02/56002/video-shows-scene-from-inside-building-at-san-bern/ "undefined"), officers led people silently through the building’s halls. The group walked with their hands raised, and some could be heard crying when one officer assured the group: “I’ll take a bullet before you do, that’s for damn sure.” The officer also told the fearful group, “try to relax, try to relax.” At least one child can be seen among those being escorted to safety. One exchange between a man and a woman can be heard in which the latter asked “who is it?” of the shooter. “I saw someone in black,” the man replied. Flores serves as a customer services coordinator at the state-run facility for individuals with developmental disabilities. The two suspects in the mass shooting, husband and wife, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, were killed during a gun battle with cops on a residential street in the area hours after the shooting. The two shooters targeted a office holiday party which Farook had been attending just before the incident. At least 14 people [were killed](http://www.people.com/article/san-bernardino-shootings-holly-pettit-graefe-texted-dad-gunmen-opened-fire "undefined") and 17 wounded. Police said that have not yet established a motive for the shootings, but have not ruled out a link to terrorism, and said both suspects were armed with “assault rifles, Smith & Wesson, and semi automatic handguns.” Farook’s [brother-in-law](http://www.people.com/article/san-bernardino-suspects-left-baby-with-grandmother-during-shooting "undefined") told reporters on Wednesday that he has no idea what the motivation was behind the attacks and was still in shock. _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/video-from-inside-san-bernardino-shooting-shows-hero-cop "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4134843/hero-cop-vows-protection-san-bernardino-shooting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4134843/hero-cop-vows-protection-san-bernardino-shooting/"},"headline":"This Cop Vowed to 'Take a Bullet' to Protect Workers as They Fled the San Bernardino Shooting","datePublished":"2015-12-03T17:22:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:05:38.539Z","description":"'I'll take a bullet before you do, that's for damn sure'","url":"https://time.com/4134843/hero-cop-vows-protection-san-bernardino-shooting/","keywords":["California","Crime","tragedy","San Bernardino Shooting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bec8cfdd391d446/698873938e06019fb8463955/san-bernardino1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lindsay Kimble / People"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bec8cfdd391d446/698873938e06019fb8463955/san-bernardino1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Up to 20 victims in mass shooting in San Bernardino","caption":"Up to 20 victims in mass shooting in San Bernardino","creditText":"Doug Saunders—LANG/EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4134843/hero-cop-vows-protection-san-bernardino-shooting/","name":"This Cop Vowed to 'Take a Bullet' to Protect Workers as They Fled the San Bernardino Shooting"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Two Dead San Bernardino Shooting Suspects Named","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/8crzTekT/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-12-03T02:30:07.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8crzTekT.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4134843/hero-cop-vows-protection-san-bernardino-shooting/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4134843/hero-cop-vows-protection-san-bernardino-shooting/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```