San Bernardino shooting: Identities of victims emerge

The identities of the victims of the California mass shooting began to emerge Thursday — and family members said two of them are co-workers of Syed Rizwan Farook.

On a sidewalk several blocks from the shooting scene, Van Nguyen sat on the pavement late Thursday morning, sobbing, as loved ones formed a wall around her. Nguyen’s daughter, Tin Nguyen, 31, of Santa Ana, in Orange County, was one of the 14 people killed in Wednesday’s shooting, the family said.

Tin Nguyen, like Farook, was a food inspector with the San Bernardino County health department, said her uncle, Phu Nguyen. In a brief interview with Newsday, before the family was ushered away, he said his niece was “getting ready to get married” next year.

“She was excited about trying on her wedding dress,” Phu Nguyen said.

Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, fatally shot 14 people and wounded 21 others in a hail of bullets at a holiday party Wednesday at a San Bernardino social services facility.

Another employee, Nicholas Thalasinos, also was confirmed as a victim by a family member, ABC News reported.

Thalasinos, a former New Jersey resident, was an employee at the department for about 12 years and had worked as an inspector alongside Farook, the victim’s wife, Jennifer Thalasinos, told ABC News.

Another victim was identified as Daniel Kaufman, 42, of San Bernardino. He ran the coffee shop at the Inland Regional Center where the shooting occurred, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Friends took to Facebook to remember Kaufman with memorials and tributes.

“Daniel spoke to me about books and told me he didn’t like books with sad endings. I hope that Daniel had enough happy endings to brighten his life that was cut short way too soon. RIP Daniel. . . . ,” friend and author Sara York said.

By Paul LaRocco

paul.larocco@newsday.com,john.asbury@newsday.com@paullarocco,

Paul LaRocco is a reporter on the investigations desk. Since starting at Newsday in late 2010, he has also covered Nassau and Suffolk county politics and government and the Town of Oyster Bay.