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Brother of shooter was decorated Navy veteran

Posted at 6:18 PM, Dec 04, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-04 21:18:13-05

The brother of one of the shooters in an attack that killed 14 people in California is a Navy veteran who earned medals for fighting global terrorism.

According to military records obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, Syed Raheel Farook — the brother of gunman Syed Rizwan Farook — was in the Navy from 2003 to 2007.

During his stint, he received the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, among other awards.

After going through training in the family's native Illinois, Syed Raheel Farook served for three years aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise as an information system technician.

He now lives in Southern California, where his brother and the brother's wife were killed in a shootout with authorities after the Wednesday attack.

Attorneys for the family of a California shooter say he was married to a soft-spoken housewife who only spoke with female relatives.

Mohammad Abuershaid and David Chesley, who represent Syed Farook's family, say Farook's wife, Tashfeen Malik, wore a veil that covered her face and didn't drive. The couple opened fire on a holiday party of Farook's co-workers, killing 14 people.

They say Farook's mother lived with the couple but she stayed upstairs and didn't notice they had stockpiled 12 pipe bombs and well over 4,500 rounds of ammunition.

Abuershaid and Chesley say the couple left their 6-month-old daughter in her care when they carried out Wednesday's attack.

They say the child is with child protective services. Farook's brother-in-law is beginning the legal process to adopt the girl.