US media: Friend of San Bernardino shooter arrested

Enrique Marquez, 24, legally bought the rifles used in Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik’s deadly rampage

By AFP 17 December 2015, 11:24 pm

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Law enforcement officials continue their investigation around the Ford SUV vehicle that was the scene where suspects of the shooting at the Inland Regional Center were killed, on December 4, 2015 in San Bernardino, California. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)

LOS ANGELES, United States — Enrique Marquez, a friend of the man behind this month’s attack in California, has been arrested in connection with the assault that left 14 people dead, US media reported on Thursday.

Marquez, 24, who has been cooperating with authorities, legally purchased the two rifles used in the San Bernardino attack by US-born Syed Farook and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik, authorities have said.

It is believed he purchased the weapons on behalf of Farook, who did not want them traced to him and feared he would not pass a background check.

The Los Angeles Times said Marquez, a longtime friend and former neighbor of Farook, would likely face criminal charges stemming from the December 2 assault that also left 22 people wounded.

Several reports said he could be charged as early as Thursday.

Marquez, who was also connected to Farook through marriage and who had converted to Islam, checked himself into a mental health facility after the massacre and posted a cryptic message on Facebook that said, “I’m very sorry guys. It was a pleasure,” the Times reported.

Farook and his wife, who had a baby daughter, were killed in a gun battle with police following the shooting, which is being investigated as a terrorist attack.