SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A change came over Tashfeen Malik two or three years ago.
She started dressing more conservatively, wearing a scarf that covered nearly all her face, and became more fervent in her Muslim faith, according to some who knew her in Pakistan.
But her path from there to the bloody events of this past week — when she and her husband slaughtered 14 people in a commando-style shooting rampage — remains a mystery.
FBI officials, family lawyers and others said they know little about the 29-year-old housewife and mother, apart from what came to light on Friday: that Malik had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group on Facebook as she and her American-born husband, Syed Farook, 28, went on their rampage.
The turn in the investigation raised a host of questions, among them:
— If the couple was radicalized, when, where and how did it happen? Were they influenced by Islamist material online or direct contact with extremists?
— If it happened before Malik came to the U.S., did counterterrorism authorities miss any warning signs when they investigated her before approving her visa?
— Which of them was the driving force in the attack?
“Malik seems to be a very nebulous figure,” said Natana DeLong-Bas, an assistant professor of theology at Boston College. She said the case should cause people to rethink some of their assumptions about extremism.
“We always seem to assume only a man would be capable of making a terrorist attack,” DeLong-Bas said. “Because we know so little about Tashfeen Malik, it’s possible she might have been the main organizer in this event and talked her husband into doing it.”
Husband and wife were killed in a furious shootout with police hours after they armed themselves with assault rifles and opened fire on a gathering of Farook’s colleagues from the San Bernardino County health department, where he worked as a restaurant inspector. The FBI said it is investigating the rampage as a terrorist attack.
President Barack Obama plans to deliver a prime-time address to the nation Sunday night on the attack and the government’s efforts to keep the nation safe.
Hundreds of FBI employees, meanwhile, are working the case, interviewing people, gleaning information off the Internet, conducting searches and analyzing evidence, bureau spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
Early Saturday, authorities with guns drawn raided a home next door to the house where Farook’s family used to live in Riverside, California, breaking windows and using a cutting torch to get into the garage, neighbors said.
The Farook family attorneys, David Chesley and Mohammad Abuershaid, said none of his relatives had any indication either Farook or his wife held extremist views. The lawyers described Malik as “just a housewife” and cautioned against rushing to judgment.
