MSNBC apologizes for on-air footage of suspects’ apartment
MSNBC is apologizing for providing viewers with a live look-in at the apartment of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooting suspects.
“MSNBC and other news organizations were invited into the home by the landlord after law enforcement officials had finished examining the site and returned to control the landlord,” an MSNBC spokesman said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.
{mosads}The network said its crew was not the first group of journalists to enter the crime scene.
“Although MSNBC was not the first crew to enter the home, we did have the first live shots from inside,” the statement said. “We regret that we briefly showed images of photographs and identification cards that should not have been aired without review.”
A swarm of journalists was televised Friday in the apartment of Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook, a married couple who are suspected of killing 14 people on Wednesday at an office in San Bernardino.
Reporters could be seen photographing IDs and passports, opening up books and riffling through stacks of documents.
Authorities found thousands of rounds of ammunition, 12 pipe bombs and equipment to make improvised explosive devices in the apartment Thursday.
Multiple networks, including CNN and CBS, aired footage of the apartment.
The landlord initially said he did not let reporters into the apartment, saying “they swarmed,” but later acknowledged that reporters did have permission to enter.
No law enforcement personnel were present on the scene when media entered the building.
The FBI handed over control of the Redlands, Calif., townhouse after carrying out a search warrant Thursday.
The door to the apartment was resealed by private citizens after reporters were cleared from the room.
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