Workers at Bay Area regional centers on edge following San Bernardino attack

Byby Cornell Barnard KGO logo
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Workers at Bay Area regional centers on edge following San Bernardino attack
The facility that was targeted in the San Bernardino attack has workers at other regional centers around the state feeling distraught and scared.

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (KGO) -- At least two heavily armed attackers opened fire on a holiday banquet at a social services center for the disabled Wednesday, killing 14 people and seriously wounding more than a dozen others in a precision assault that looked "as if they were on a mission," authorities said.

PHOTOS: Scene of mass shooting at San Bernardino social services facility

The facility that was targeted in San Bernardino does life-changing work for people with disabilities. A twitter video showed a holiday party on Tuesday at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. Employees could be seen celebrating with clients in wheelchairs.

Most offices in the state closed early after the shooting. Employees at the East Bay Regional Center in San Leandro are concerned about what happened at the sister facility in Southern California.

The center is one of four in the Bay Area. The nonprofit social service agency contracts with the state to provide assistance to people with developmental disabilities.

Some workers said it was just too scarey to stay and concentrate on their work. News of the mass shooting came as a shock to employees and they just doin't know why they would be a target.

"It's a horrible, horrible, horrific thing and our thoughts and prayers are with Inland Regional Center staff and we're all just watching the news to see how it unfolds," said Ronike Sodipo, East Bay Regional Center community services director.

About 280,000 people are served by regional centers statewide and of that, 18,000 are clients of the East Bay facility.

Click here for full coverage on the deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino.