Custody battle for baby orphaned by San Bernardino attack
The fate of a 6-month old girl, left orphaned after her parents went on a murderous rampage in San Bernardino last week, will be decided by a US Family Court.
The girl, whose name is not being released, is in the custody of San Bernardino County Child Protective Services - still too young to know that her parents, Syed Rizwan Farrok and Tashfeen Malik, were both killed by police in a shootout.
The New York Post reported that the baby is not expected to be raised by blood relatives.
However, her aunt and uncle moved to gain custody of her at a Family Court hearing on Monday.
The court was closed to the public but a statement from the LA branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ said: “The family is naturally distraught at the separation and are eagerly awaiting to obtain custody of the 6-month-old girl”.
The older sister of Syed Farook told ABC News she and her husband wanted to adopt the little girl and give her a “stable upbringing”.
"For the time being, we want her to enjoy her innocence," said Saira Khan.
"You know, we don't want her to know everything, but I think eventually she will find out probably on her own."
The child had reportedly been left with her grandmother when her parents left last Wednesday and carried out a deadly attack in which 14 people were killed and 21 injured.
US authorities are now treating the attack as an act of terrorism.
