The San Bernardino County coroner on Thursday released the names of the 14 victims, ranging in age from 26 to 60, of Wednesday’s shooting rampage in California.
“This shooting has caused each victims family, friends and co-workers, along with the first responders, to suffer an enormous personal tragedy. We must stand strong and offer support to each individual affected by this senseless attack,” said Sheriff John McMahon.
The victims lived near San Bernardino and 12 were county employees, officials said. Another victim was a retired county employee, a county spokesman said.
Victims:
Shannon Johnson, 45, Los Angeles
Johnson lived in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles with his girlfriend and rose before dawn every day to travel to San Bernardino, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. His girlfriend, Mandy Pfizer, is a longtime member of the mayor’s crisis response team.
“We offer our full support to Mandy in this unimaginably difficult time, and I send my deepest condolences to Shannon’s family and all who are grieving loved ones in the aftermath of this senseless tragedy,” Garcetti said.
Bennetta Bet-Badal, 46, Rialto
Bet-Badal fled to America when she was 18 to escape Islamic extremism and the persecution of Christians that followed the Iranian Revolution, according to a GoFundMe page created by her relatives to raise money for her children. (https://www.gofundme.com/
Bet-Badal married Arlen Verdehyou, a police officer, and they moved to Rialto, California and had three children, now ages 10, 12, and 15, according to the page.
“She was blooming from day one that I met her and, until last day, until yesterday I saw her and she went, she was just an angel,” Verdehyou said at a vigil.
She was an inspector for the San Bernardino County Health Department.
Aurora Godoy, 26, San Jacinto
Wife, mother of a two-year-old boy, married in 2012, according to an online fundraising page and her Facebook account. She was a fan of National Football League team the Green Bay Packers.
“Aurora was a beautiful 26-year-old woman who is leaving behind a beautiful baby boy named Alexander Godoy and loving husband, James Godoy,” a message on a GoFundMe page said. “The Godoy family has always been positive, fun, loving.”
Isaac Amanios, 60, Fontana
Survived by his wife and three adult children, according to a Los Angeles Times interview with a family member who asked not to be named.
Larry Kaufman, 42, Rialto
Ran the coffee shop in a building at the Inland Regional Center. Survived by his boyfriend, Ryan Reyes, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Reyes told CNN that Kaufman was popular for his outgoing personality and that for years he played an active role in staging a local Renaissance faire.
“One of those people that everybody loved, got along with everybody, the life of the party, always funny, always creative,” Reyes said.
Harry Bowman, 46, Upland
Yvette Velasco, 27, Fontana
Sierra Clayborn, 27, Moreno Valley
“I love hanging out with friends and I love my blooming career in public and environmental health,” Clayborn wrote on her Facebook page. “I am a creative individual with a fun outlook on life. I love my life.”
Tamishia Clayborn, who identified herself as Clayborn’s sister in a Facebook message, wrote: “RIP Baby sis I love you more than you ever knew. You were taken too soon. My heart is broken. I am completely devastated…”
Robert Adams, 40, Yucaipa
Married, father of young daughter, according to an online fundraising page.
Adams enjoyed playing video games and discussing politics, at times sharing news reports and comments on the U.S. response to Islamic State militants, and was also a proud and happy father to his daughter, according to messages from people who identified themselves as his friends on the fundraising page and photos and comments on his personal Facebook page.
“He was 100% lost in Daddy land with Savannah,” a man who identified himself as Shawn Brady wrote on the fundraising page.
Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, Colton
Survived by his wife of 14 years, Jennifer, according to the Los Angeles Times. She told the newspaper her husband was a health inspector who worked with shooting suspect Syed Farook.
The couple were Messianic Jews, his wife said. Thalasinos wore tzitzit, traditional fringe tassels, as well as a tie clip with the Star of David.
“My husband was just a very devout believer,” she told the newspaper. “He became born again a couple of years ago and because of that I had a very strong faith, so I know that he’s in a much better place.”
She added that her husband evangelized many. “He wanted to serve the Lord and bring more people to the Lord.”
Tin Nguyen, 31, Santa Ana
Nguyen was known for her caring personality, contagious smile and goofy sense of humor, according to a GoFundMe web page created in her honor.
Juan Espinoza, 50, Highland
Damian Meins, 58, Riverside
Michael Wetzel, 37, Lake Arrowhead
Survived by his wife Renee and six children, ranging in age from 1 year old to 14, according to a post on his church’s website. (http://bit.ly/1YLdcpW)
He was a spiritual leader to his family, according to his pastor, Rod Akins of the Church of the Woods.
Akins posted a statement from Renee on the church’s website, along with photos of the family and a video of Wetzel helping to lead the Advent service on Nov. 30. (https://vimeo.com/147783521) {eoa}
© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.
See an error in this article?
To contact us or to submit an article
