Television crews have been let inside the home of the California shooters, rifling through the couple’s personal effects for any clue to what drove them to gun down 14 people at an office party.

Crews were given access by the landlord to the Redlands apartment rented by Syed Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik, who lived there with their six-month-old baby daughter.

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A scrum of journalists flooded into the apartment, filming and snapping pictures of the family’s possessions – from baby toys to computer paraphernalia.

It was not immediately clear if the apartment was still considered an active crime scene.

A reporter for MSNBC displayed on camera a driver’s licence in Malik’s name and what appeared to be the first known photographs of the 27-year-old.

Footage also showed a wall calendar and a paper basket filled with shredded documents, which a reporter said had been discarded by investigators.

MSNBC said that one reporter from another outlet had paid the landlord $US1000 ($A1362.40) for access to the ground floor premises, and that the rest of the media had flooded in behind.

Farook and Malik were killed on Wednesday in a wild firefight with police hours after the carnage at an office party attended by Farook’s co-workers in San Bernardino.

Relatives were at a loss to explain how the young couple with a baby girl could have donned black tactical gear and gunned down 14 people, in the country’s deadliest mass shooting since the Newtown school massacre in 2012.

Investigators believe that Malik had pledged allegiance to Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and may have radicalised her husband.

It’s been reported that Farook and Malik had dropped off their six-month-old daughter at a relative’s home just hours before the massacre.

By Wednesday evening (Thursday afternoon AEST), police identified 28-year-old Farook and 27-year-old Malik as suspects in the shooting at a facility for people with developmental disabilities.

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Read the latest updates on the shooting, including the new wounded toll, how police were led to Farook and Malik’s home and the potential they had to carry out future attacks here

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It was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, which left 20 children and six teachers dead in 2012.

The couple were married for two years and had dropped off their six-month-old daughter with Farook’s mother earlier in the morning, saying they had a doctor’s appointment, according to Council on American-Islamic Relations LA executive director Hussam Ayloush.

Farook later headed to a Christmas function in a room at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino for the department of San Bernardino County where he had worked as an environmental health specialist for the past five years.

Farook’s brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, told a news conference he last spoke to him a week ago.

“I have no idea why he’d do it,” he said. “Why would he do it? Why would he do something like this? I’m in shock myself … my condolences to the people who lost their life.”

The Daily Mail reports that Farook travelled to Saudi Arabia early in 2015 and returned with Malik, his new wife, and the pair welcomed a baby not long after.

‘He never struck me as suspicious’

Armoured vehicles surround an SUV following a shootout in San Bernardino. Photo: AAP

When news of the shooting broke, relatives feared their loved ones could be among the victims, Mr Ayloush said.

Farook’s father, also named Syed Farook, told NY Daily News his son had graduated from La Sierra High School in Riverside in 2003.

“He was very religious. He would go to work, come back, go to pray, come back. He’s Muslim,” he said.

According to colleagues, the 28-year-old did not openly discuss his religion at work.

They described him as quiet and polite, with no obvious grudges, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“He never struck me as a fanatic, he never struck me as suspicious,” said Griselda Reisinger, who worked with Farook before leaving the agency in May.

Authorities confirmed Farook was an American citizen, but said they were not aware of Malik’s nationality – overall, very little was known of Malik.

According to colleagues, Farook returned from Saudi Arabia with a new bride, whom he had met online.

“I think that what we have seen and how they were equipped, there had to be some kind of planning in this,” San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said.

Early on Friday (AEST), Mr Burguan confirmed the suspects had thousands of rounds of ammunition at their home – giving them the capability to stage another attack.

It was also revealed that the black SUV used as a getaway car was rented – just four days ago. The contract between Farook and Malik and the dealership led police to their home.

Farook left function ‘angry’

A couple embraces following a shooting that killed multiple people at a social services facility in California. Photo: AAP

Mr Burguan said Farook left the venue “under some circumstances that were described as angry” and returned with Malik, armed with four weapons – .223-caliber assault rifles and semi automatic handguns.

According to the ATF, two of the weapons were obtained legally, although they did not specify what arms.

The first 911 call was made to police at 11am (6am AEST).

They fired between 75-85 rounds at the Center and left a pipe bomb behind, attached to a remote controlled car, as 14 were left dead and over 20 injured.

As police searched a home in the nearby suburb of Redlands in relation to the shooting, a vehicle matching the description of the getaway car passed the property, slowing down before it accelerated, and was quickly pursued by police.

The morning’s events culminated in a shootout on San Bernardino Avenue, several hours after the initial mass attack.

The male suspect shot out of the vehicle while the woman drove, while a device that resembled a bomb was also thrown from the vehicle, reports say.

Officers fired over 300 rounds of ammunition in the shootout, while the suspects fired 76. They were both killed.

A third person seen fleeing the Inland Regional Center was detained by police, but police later said there were only two shooters involved.

WITH AAP