--- description: The San Bernardino shooting could have been more devastating if the bomb the suspects left behind hadn’t failed. title: The San Bernardino Shooting Could Have Been Deadlier image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6be3020a1a25ef19/698873b7bc6cfc80063daa97/b3f89fb4e61745acb6efdebbef4440e1-0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # San Bernardino Suspects Left Behind Failed Remote-Controlled Bomb  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2015 6:48 PM CUT  Investigators search for bullet casings at the scene where Wednesday's police shootout with suspects took place in San Bernardino, Calif on Dec. 3, 2015. Investigators search for bullet casings at the scene where Wednesday's police shootout with suspects took place in San Bernardino, Calif on Dec. 3, 2015.Jae C. Hong—AP  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2015 6:48 PM CUT The [shooting by a California couple at an office party](http://time.com/4135144/san-bernardino-shooter-bombs-bullets/ "undefined") Wednesday could have been more devastating if the bomb they left behind hadn’t failed, officials said. Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik failed to detonate a remote-controlled explosive device they left at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino after they opened fire during a holiday party, San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said Thursday. The two [killed 14 people and wounded 21 others](http://time.com/4135144/san-bernardino-shooter-bombs-bullets/ "undefined") before they fled the site of the massacre in an SUV with the bomb’s controller, authorities said. There were three pipe bombs tied together to make one device and attached to a remote control car, which was meant to trigger a blast, according to Burguan. The explosive “appeared to not have worked in this case,” the police chief added. The FBI said it’s “looking into” whether the designs came from Al-Qaeda’s “Inspire” magazine. Farook and Malik’s heavy arsenal found at their home included [thousands of bullets and tools to make more pipe bomb](http://time.com/4135144/san-bernardino-shooter-bombs-bullets/ "undefined")s, Burguan said Thursday. Authorities found another 12 pipe bombs at the house. “Clearly they were equipped and they could have done another attack,” Burguan said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4135215/san-bernardino-remote-bomb/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4135215/san-bernardino-remote-bomb/"},"headline":"San Bernardino Suspects Left Behind Failed Remote-Controlled Bomb","datePublished":"2015-12-03T18:48:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:56:02.478Z","description":"The bomb “appeared to not have worked,\" police said","url":"https://time.com/4135215/san-bernardino-remote-bomb/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6be3020a1a25ef19/698873b7bc6cfc80063daa97/b3f89fb4e61745acb6efdebbef4440e1-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6be3020a1a25ef19/698873b7bc6cfc80063daa97/b3f89fb4e61745acb6efdebbef4440e1-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"California Shootings","caption":"Investigators search for bullet casings at the scene where Wednesday's police shootout with suspects took place in San Bernardino, Calif on Dec. 3, 2015.","creditText":"Jae C. Hong—AP","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/4135215/san-bernardino-remote-bomb/","name":"San Bernardino Suspects Left Behind Failed Remote-Controlled Bomb"}}]}] ```