Enrique Marquez, friend of San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook, was arrested on Thursday, December 17, 2015. He acknowledged that he bought the two AR-15s automatic rifles for Syed Rizwan Farook, which Farook used in the December 2, 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino.
In addition, CNN reported on December 10 that: “He’s also told investigators about a 2012 attack plot that he says he and Farook conceived but did not carry out, U.S. officials told CNN. Marquez told investigators that part of the reason the two abandoned their plans was that around that time, they were spooked by unrelated FBI arrests of four people charged with attempting to travel abroad to carry out jihad.”
The Los Angeles Times reports:
Enrique Marquez, the friend of terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook, has been arrested on criminal charges in connection with the Dec. 2 massacre in San Bernardino, federal authorities said Thursday.
The 24-year-old Riverside resident once lived next door to Farook and purchased two of the semiautomatic rifles that Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used in the attack that killed 14 people.
The arrest represents a major development in the widening investigation of the third foreign terror attack in the U.S. this year, and the deadliest since 2001.
Before the shooting, Marquez worked as a security guard at Wal-Mart and was known as a shy cycling enthusiast with dreams of joining the Navy. Recently he had been attempting to lose weight to prepare for the rigors of boot camp.
Marquez appeared to have been greatly influenced by Farook. While Farook was known for keeping to himself, he struck up a friendship with Marquez and the two were often seen tinkering on old cars together. Marquez converted to Islam, prayed at a local mosque and married a member of Farook’s extended family, a Russian emigre.
About four or five years ago, Marquez began attending prayers at the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco, according to Yousuf Bhaghani, president of the facility’s board of directors.
Bhaghani said Marquez was not a regular but stuck out because of his Latino background. He was remembered as “a decent guy who came to pray, nothing that could raise any flags.”
Marquez legally purchased the two firearms in 2011 and 2012, around the same time that Farook had allegedly plotted to carry out an earlier attack. Farook asked Marquez to purchase the weapons on his behalf because he did not want them traced to him and doubted he could pass a background check, the sources said.
FBI agents believe Farook scrapped the plan after three men were arrested in the Inland Empire for plotting to kill Americans in Afghanistan. There was no record of any transfer of the weapons from Marquez to Farook and Malik.