One shot in the back, one shot in the abdomen: these two young women both reached for their phones to call to their loved ones for what they feared could be the last time.

Denise Peraza, 27, and Jennifer Stevens, 22, were at their office Christmas party at Inland Regional Center, a disability clinic, in San Bernardino when shooters stormed the hall at 11.15am.

They were two of the 36 people caught in the firing line. Fourteen were killed, 21 were wounded.

Lying on the floor clutching her bleeding lower back, Peraza called her sister Stephanie Baldwin. 'I just want to tell you that I love you,' she wept, then hung up the phone.

Feet away, Stevens, who was shot in the abdomen, called her mother's voicemail. 'Mom, I'm at work and I've been shot,' she said simply.

Both Peraza and Stevens are now in a stable condition recovering in intensive care.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Denise Peraza, 27, (left) called her sister to say 'I love you' as she lay on the floor having been shot in the back at Inland Regional Center on Wednesday. Jennifer Stevens, 22, (right) called her mom and left a message to say she had been shot in the abdomen. Both girls who worked at the center are now recovering in hospital

Peraza, who was shot in the back during the attack but survived, was attending a Christmas party for the Department of Health along with dozens of other workers when she was shot

Peraza's sister, who told CBS about the panicked phone call, said the gunmen apparently shot at their victims in silence.

Speaking to the LA Times, Peraza, an environmental health specialist for the county of San Bernardino, described how the attackers walked into the room dressed head to toe in black and wearing black face masks.

She added: 'Everyone dropped to the floor. The guys opened fired for 30 seconds, randomly, then paused to reload and began firing again.'

The 27-year-old was hiding under a desk when she was hit in the back, but continued lying still until the shooters left.

The hall was silent for five minutes after the gunmen, she said, with everyone petrified to move - some unable.

Eventually, police arrived and told everyone who could walk to get outside were help was waiting.

Peraza was loaded into a pickup truck and taken to a medical center, where she was reunited with her relatives, she explained.

Stevens had only just started her job as an environmental technician for the San Bernardino County Environmental Services Department in November, The Sun reported.

She underwent surgery on Wednesday night and is now recovering in an intensive care unit.

Hers is just one of the many harrowing accounts to emerge from inside the disability center where 14 people were killed and another 21 wounded.

The survivors included environment worker Amanda Gaspard who was shot three times in the back, leg and arm, and suffered shrapnel wounds to the head, according to Bangor Daily News.

A mother, Debbie Alvarado, described her panic at receiving a call from her wounded daughter as the shooters stormed the building.

'She said she was shot in her side,' Alvarado told CBS. 'They were pretending to be dead because these guys were still out there. She told me not to come, these guys are still out there, you know that, right?'

And uninjured survivor Melinda Rivas told CBS: 'I called my kids and said if something happens to me, there's a shooting here, be safe.'

Babe, don't get scared, I love you so much. Take care of Matthew, there's a shooter

Luis Gutierrez received a call from his wife, who said: 'Babe don't get scared, I love you so much. Take care of Matthew, there's a shooter here.'

Julie Paez's son, Nick Paez, said Thursday that his mother was shot at least twice and a bullet shattered her pelvis. She tests water safety for the county health department and was attending a holiday work gathering Wednesday when attackers killed 14 people.

Nick Paez says his mother was able to send her family a message through a group chat app to say she'd been shot and included a selfie that showed just her face.

He says the family 'didn't know if she was alive or dead' after receiving the photo.

Paez's father frantically checked hospitals. Nick Paez says they had to wait eight hours to see her as she underwent surgery and then went an intensive-care unit.

Another worker named Holly texted her father, Terry Petit, saying: 'Dad shooting at my work, shot people in office. Waiting for cops to catch him. Pray for us.'

Petit, who spoke to KCAL9 News, replied: 'Hide. Find a good spot. Hide now.'

Holly replied: 'I am but we are locked in an office. Cops SWAT helicopter, everything here.'

Gina, a worker at Inland Regional Center, sent this text to her sister as the gunmen stormed the building, as other witnesses said the men opened fire 'for 30 seconds' before stopping to reload

Terry Petit told his daughter Holly to hide. He teared up on TV as he read his daughter's texts

Meanwhile newlywed Kevin Ortiz, 24, managed to call his wife of two weeks and his father despite being shot three times during the attack.

According to the LA Times, Ortiz, who worked as a county environmental inspector, was hit twice in the leg and once in the shoulder during the shooting.

At 11.25am he placed a called to his wife, Dyana Ortiz, 23, to say he was wounded but was safe and being tended to by police.

She said: ''Kevin said he had been shot three times and that he was in pain but he was all right. Then he said 'I love you' and I said 'I love you.''

Another worker named Gina texted her sister Monique at 11.15am: 'There's a shoot out at my work I'm scared.'

Monique texted back: 'Want me to cone [sic] get you I love you. Stay down low as you can. I love you.'

Workers wept as they sat on the make-shift triage unit minutes after the shooting at Inland Regional Center

One woman lies one the floor as her colleague wails in tears in the makeshift treatment center

After unleashing another hail of bullets on the innocent people inside, they fled before officers arrived five minutes later and began helping the wounded.

Speaking to CNN, Marcos Aguilera said he received a text from his wife who works at the center describing 'gunshots and crying'.

Aguilera said a SWAT team eventually evacuated his wife, adding: 'When she exited the building, she said there were multiple bodies on the floor.'

Inland Regional Center treats 30,000 children and adults in their San Bernardino and Riverside clinics, with 670 employees.

It is believed the shooters targeted the auditorium inside the center which had been rented out for a conference.

Garrett Lacroix, a worker who was inside the building, told KCAL9 the fire alarm went off and they heard gunshots.

'The fire alarm went off and we saw people searching the building,' Garrett said.

'Someone started shouting in the halls that there was possibly a bomb. We saw officers with vests and automatic weapons.

'We were all corralled into a corner of the building.

'They patted us all down and checked our bags, our identification and registration.'

People are pictured being evacuated from the car park after the shooting at 11.30am Pacific Time

Officers stand on a truck as law enforcement swarm the area in a bid to find three gunmen armed with rifles

Garrett was stood with around 200 other survivors waiting to be shuttled to a safe zone as he told the station: 'Everyone is really anxious right now a little shaken up.

'They seem to be talking on their phones or texting. It doesn't seem that anyone is really afraid at this point since we're far away from the building.'

An IRC worker told CNN they believe it was a Department of Health meeting.

The shooting came just a day after the center held a Christmas party for the extremely disabled children who permanently reside in the building in order to receive round-the-clock treatment.