Neighbor of San Bernardino attackers will be charged, officials say
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities on Thursday arrested Enrique Marquez, who bought the assault rifles used in the massacre in San Bernardino, California, earlier this month that left 14 people dead, according to law enforcement officials.
Marquez, 24, became the first person charged in connection with the Dec. 2 shooting, but it was not immediately clear what charges were brought against him. A longtime friend and neighbor of Syed Rizwan Farook, who carried out the assault with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, Marquez has been cooperating with investigators, supplying much of what federal authorities know about the couple, who died in a shootout with police.
Marquez, who converted to Islam several years ago, bought the two assault rifles that Malik and Farook used in the shooting, according to law enforcement officials. They said Marquez waived his right to remain silent and admitted that he bought the guns for Farook, who believed he could not pass the required background check.
Marquez has also told investigators that he and Farook planned a terrorist attack in 2012 but called it off after the authorities arrested some other men who were plotting to kill Americans.
Federal prosecutors have shown a willingness to be tough on people who played secondary roles in terrorism cases. After the bombing at the Boston Marathon, friends of one of the bombers concealed or destroyed some of his belongings to impede the investigation; three men were later convicted of felonies and sentenced to prison for taking part in that effort, and another for lying to investigators about his knowledge of it.
By comparison, Marquez’s connection to the San Bernardino shooting appears more direct. Much of what federal authorities know about the couple has come from Marquez, who officials say has been cooperating with investigators for several days.
Malik and Farook, armed with the assault rifles and semiautomatic pistols, fired on a meeting and holiday luncheon for Farook’s co-workers at San Bernardino County’s public health department on Dec. 2, killing 14 and injuring 21. They also left behind a bomb that failed to detonate. Hours later, they were killed in a gunbattle with the police. They fired as many as 150 shots that day, and in their home and in the SUV they were driving, the police found another rifle, thousands of rounds of ammunitions, a dozen pipe bombs and equipment for making more bombs.
Shortly after the shooting, a cryptic message was posted to Marquez’s Facebook page: “I’m. Very sorry guys. It was a pleasure.’’
Marquez, 24, worked as a security guard at a Wal-Mart and also did odd jobs at a bar in Riverside. Co-workers at the bar said he drank alcohol — forbidden in Islam — and talked about terrorist “sleeper cells’’ ready to carry out attacks, but they did not take the talk seriously.
He entered into what friends described as a sham marriage, paid to wed a Russian woman so that she could gain entry to the United States. Officials said the woman’s sister is married to Farook’s brother.
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