Kommunale Politik » s say she stood out as someon

This undated photo provided by George Velasco shows Yvette Velasco. She was one of the victims of a shooting at a social service facility in San Bernardino Zapatillas Mujer New Balance 990 Rosa Negras Baratas , Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. Victims of the mass shooting in California Victim of the mass shooting in California
Most of the 14 people killed at a holiday banquet in San Bernardino County, California, worked in the same county public health department as the man who showed up with his wife and sprayed the hall with gunfire.


An official list of the dead was released Thursday, and families, friends and co-workers came forward to share some of their stories:


NICHOLAS THALASINOS, 52


He identified as a Messianic Jew and passionately defended Israel, actively debating about religion in online forums and in person, his friends said.


Only two weeks ago, Thalasinos, of Colton, was having a heated on-the-job discussion about the nature of Islam with Syed Rizwan Farook, his fellow restaurant inspector and one of the shooters.


Thalasinos' friend, Kuuleme Stephens, told The Associated Press that she happened to call him while he was working with Farook and that he brought her into their debate, loudly declaring that Farook "doesn't agree that Islam is not a peaceful religion."


She heard Farook counter that Americans don't understand Islam, and Thalasinos responded by saying, "I don't know how to talk with him," she said.


Thalasinos' wife, Jennifer, told the AP the two "probably did have debates" but "I never got the impression it was in a bad way."


"It was more, you know, just having discussions about religion and faith," she said.


She said she believes her husband died a martyr because of his faith but he never indicated that Syed had radicalized. She said she did not believe her husband was individually targeted.


"They all got along really well. So it's shocking," she said.


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AURORA BANALES GODOY, 26


Godoy was married and the mother of an infant son, her aunt, Rebecca Godoy, said in Facebook post that linked to Godoy's own page.


"Yesterday in the shootings in San Bernardino many families were affected. Ours was one of them," Rebecca Godoy wrote. "We will keep her flame alive so that her young son does not forget his special mother."


Cindy Quinones, a cousin of Godoy's, said her husband was devastated by the death of his wife.


"I feel like numb. It hasn't hit us yet. We're still trying to make sense of all this," Quinones said at a vigil held Thursday night in San Bernardino.


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YVETTE VELASCO, 27


Velasco is being described by her family as smart, motivated and full of life.


In a statement, her relatives said she was "loved by all who knew her."


"We are devastated about what happened and are still processing this nightmare," the family said.


Velasco is survived by her parents and three sisters.


"Please pray for our family and the other families who have lost a loved one as a result of this terrible tragedy," her relatives wrote.


In the aftermath of the shooting, Velasco's relatives searched everywhere for her. Mindy Velasco, her aunt, called hospitals, police and evacuee centers in a harrowing search for information, the Los Angeles Times reported.


"I'm fearing the worst," she told the paper. "She would definitely be in contact after something like this."


Elizabeth Faron, a friend of Velasco's from college, remembered her friend as "amazing, very sweet, friendly and affectionate."


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BENNETTA BETBADAL, 46


She was born in Iran in 1969 and came to the United States at age 18 to escape the persecution of Christians after the Iranian Revolution, according to a family statement on a fundraising account set up in her name.


Her cousin, Melani Betbadal, referred reporters to the statement and declined further comment.


She first settled in New York City but eventually moved to Rialto, California. She and her husband, a police officer, were married in 1997 and have three children ages 10, 12 and 15.


Betbadal graduated from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona with a degree in chemistry and took a job as a health inspector with San Bernardino County.


Her husband, Arlen Verdehyou, told The Daily Breeze that he and his wife exchanged texts at 8 a.m. Wednesday. He told her that he had withdrawn money from the bank and would do some Christmas shopping. Betbadal had recently decorated the family's Christmas tree.


She was planning to give a presentation at the annual holiday meeting Wednesday and was excited about it, the family said.


"It is the ultimate irony that her life would be stolen from her that day by what appears to be the same type of extremism that she fled so many years ago," the family said in the statement.


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SIERRA CLAYBORN, 27


Her friends say she stood out as someone who always had an encouraging word.


Timothy J. Lee remembers meeting Clayborn in a hip-hop class at the University of California, Riverside. She was active and outgoing, praising classmates when they mastered a routine.