2015 San Bernardino Shooting: Mother Of Shooter Pleads Guilty To Destroying Evidence

New charges have been leveled in the case of the 2015 San Bernardino shooting that left 14 dead and 22 injured. Rafia Sultana Shareef, 66, the mother of shooter Syed Farook, has pleaded guilty to destroying evidence related to her son’s crimes and now faces up to 20 years in prison.

Shareef, also known as Rafia Farook, reportedly destroyed a map drawn by her son and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, and used to plan the shooting. The two opened fire at the Inland Regional Center on Dec. 2, 2015, and were later gunned down by police.

“Shareef admitted that she knew her son had produced the document, and she believed it was directly related to his planning of the IRC attack,” prosecutors explained.

In her plea deal, Shareef said that she found the map in her son’s bedroom after he and his wife left to carry out the shooting and disposed of it using a shredder. The three shared a home in Redlands, California, along with Farook and Malik’s infant son. Shareef also admitted to telling other family members that she believed the two were responsible for the shooting.

Shareef faces charges of alteration, destruction, and mutilations of records, which carry a steep maximum sentence.

“Once she pleads guilty to the felony charge, Shareef will face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “But the plea agreement contemplates a sentence of no more than 18 months.”

Shareef is scheduled to make her first appearance in federal court on March 16.