Families & organizations reflect on terror attack

UPDATE: 6:11 p.m.

United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of the Inland Empire President and CEO Greg Wetmore said the events of December 2nd, 2015 are still fresh on his mind. A day where 14 lives were taken in one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. soil. “We sat around the board room, and chatted about it as it was going on,” Wetmore said. “We first heard through people that called in. One of my board members actually called in and said, “Don’t we do work with the Inland Regional Center (IRC)?” And I said yes, and she said she didn’t have many details. But there had appeared to be a shooting there.” Wetmore and others like Desert Arc Senior Vice President Mitch Blumberg said while the attack took place at the IRC in San Bernardino, the attack hit close to home. “One of the people that was killed was very well-known to one of my staff,” Blumberg said. “And this was a gentleman who was developmentally-disabled himself, but he worked in the coffee shop within the conference center. So that’s why he was in the line of fire.” Cathedral City resident Patty Kibe said she worried at first whether the aftermath of the attack would affect programs offered through the IRC and local charitable organizations like UCP. “I was a first-time mom with my son who has special needs,” Kibe said. “So we had no idea what was going on, what the next step would be, [or] what would we face in the future.” Now one year later, locals sid they continue to be vigilant while still giving love to those changed by that day. “Our hearts go out,” Wetmore said. “We live it every day, unfortunately, in this country. And the families that are left behind are with it, forever and ever.” Blumberg said the attack wasn’t targeted specifically at developmentally-disabled people or case managers. He said Desert Arc has added more security to their headquarters since the attack. Wetmore said Friday morning, he and his staff gathered in their conference room, where they first heard about the shooting to remember that day.

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ORIGINAL STORY: 5:01 p.m.

Local families and organizations are reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, with many depending on services at the Inland Regional Center, where the shooting took place.

KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2’s Zak Dahlheimer spoke to local residents directly affected by the mass shooting.

Officials with organizations like United Cerebral Palsy of the Inland Empire and Desert ARC said the I.R.C. acts as a hub for funding of regional organizations helping those with developmental disabilities.

Which is one of the main reasons why charities and families said they were very concerned when the shooting took place.

Watch Zak Dahlheimer’s live report on KESQ News Channel 3 at 5 p.m. and on CBS Local 2 at 6:30 p.m. to hear local react on the one-year anniversary of the tragic shooting.