One of the terrorists who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif., last week, received the assault rifles used in the massacre from a friend to avoid arousing suspicion by purchasing them himself, a law enforcement official said Friday.
Even as the FBI continue exploring the husband-and-wife killers and whether they had any other possible targets in mind, the investigation has expanded as the FBI questions a growing network of people with ties to the couple.
Authorities have focused on Enrique Marquez, a neighbor and friend of Syed Rizwan Farook’s. Marquez provided the rifles used by Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik.
Marquez has been interviewed multiple times during the investigation, and a senior law enforcement official said Friday that he has “come clean” with authorities by cooperating fully.
Marquez said Farook sought the weapons from him in an effort to cover his tracks, since Farook thought buying the guns could draw attention, according to the law enforcement official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. However, it is still not known whether Marquez gave or sold the guns to Farook. Investigators have described the probe into last week’s bloodshed — which saw 14 people killed and another 22 injured — as massive and painstaking, involving hundreds of interviews and stretching into at least two other countries. This continued Thursday, as the FBI and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office dispatched evidence-recovery divers to Seccombe Lake in the city.
