The center where a gunman or gunmen shot and killed an unknown number of people Wednesday is located in San Bernardino, Calif., and services people with developmental disabilities.
The shooting happened at the Inland Regional Center around 11:35 a.m. Wednesday. According to the center’s Facebook page, the IRC serves individuals with developmental disabilities -- such as autism, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy -- who live in San Bernardino and Riverside counties in Southern California.
The California Department of Disabilities website described the clients whom the center serves saying, “To be eligible for services, a person must have a disability that begins before the person's 18th birthday, be expected to continue indefinitely and present a substantial disability. … Infants and toddlers (age 0 to 36 months) who are at risk of having developmental disabilities or who have a developmental delay may also qualify for services. In addition, individuals at risk of having a child with a developmental disability may be eligible for genetic diagnosis, counseling and other prevention services … .”
According to the center’s website, nearly 670 staff members help more than 30,000 individuals with disabilities during a typical year. It is not known if all 670 employees work at the facility located on South Waterman Avenue in San Bernardino.
The facility is run by the state and is the largest of its kind in California, according to the CDD website. The regional center diagnoses disabilities and assess eligibility for state services at no cost to clients, the state's website said.
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