1st San Bernardino victim, Yvette Velasco, laid to rest

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Family members of Yvette Velasco, one of 14 victims of the San Bernardino terror attack, held her funeral service Thursday.

Velasco, 27, was attending a holiday luncheon on Dec. 2 when Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik barged into the conference room of the Inland Regional Center and opened fire, killing 14 people and injuring 22 others.

The FBI is now investigating the shooting as an "act of terrorism."

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Velasco was due to receive a gold badge officially recognizing her as a San Bernardino County health inspector. She had just passed an exam to become a state-registered environmental health specialist after working her way up the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health for the past five years, starting off in vector control, collecting mosquitoes hovering near backyard pools and dirty puddles for disease testing.

Her parents and sisters met Thursday with the FBI and county officials. They gave her family the badge she'd been waiting to receive.

Velasco was remembered by her friends and tight-knit family at an outdoor funeral ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Covina. Her three older sisters and parents said they chose that particular spot because of how much she loved nature.

Family friend Reggie Royster said Velasco never tried to be anyone else and was always "full of life."

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Velasco's father retired from the California Highway Patrol, and in a troop of officers and former colleagues attended the funeral to honor her.

The service marks the first of many funerals, memorial services and burials for those killed in the attack.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.