By Emma Cummins

Editorial Page Editor

On Wednesday, a shooting took place in San Bernardino, Calif., 60 miles west of Los Angeles. A couple, 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook, and his wife, 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik, open fired on an office party at the Inland Regional Center. Fourteen were killed and 21 were injured.

After a high-speed chase, the couple was killed in a shootout. The couple was heavily armed, with 1,400 rounds and three pipe bombs being left at the scene of the crime, and 1,600 rounds found in their getaway vehicle. More weapons were found at the couple’s house, including 12 pipe bombs and other advanced weaponry.

Not anything definitive has been said yet, but authorities have not ruled out the possibility of this being a terrorist attack. With reports of “soft ties” to radical Islamists, Farook has contacted radicals through social media, so terrorism has not been ruled out.

Farook, an American citizen, and Malik, a native Pakistanian, had a six-month-old daughter. The couple had only been married since July 2014, after meeting in Saudi Arabia in 2013.

At times like these, it seems that shootings have become the norm.

But, it is important to quell these fears with a few facts. From the Brookings Institute, a study was published that said, “Today, the national crime rate is about half of what it was at its height in 1991. Violent crime has fallen by 51 percent since 1991, and property crime by 43 percent.”

Whether the shooting was a terrorist attack or not, it is important to remember that fear should not dictate how we live our lives. Living normally is the best defense for citizens like us.