Buyer of rifles in attack likely to be charged

NBC has confirmed that this is a photo of Enrique Marquez, the man who bought the two semiautomatic rifles used in the San Bernardino shooting.

While he declined to identify the social network, US law enforcement officials have said the messages were exchanged through Facebook.

The investigation of the mass shooting San Bernardo, California was just hours old when lawmakers, law enforcement and the public started asking the same question: how did USA authorities miss the signs that a Pakistani woman asking for a fiancé visa had been radicalized? Toni Guinyard reports for Today in LA on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015.

Marquez said he had nothing to do with the pipe bombs that authorities found at Farook’s home after the December 2 attack, or the ones that apparently failed to go off at the site of the shooting, the officials said. The dealer is required to hold the weapon while the buyer undergoes a background check by state officials.

If the guns were bought for an earlier planned attack, or if Marquez knew the guns were going to be used in a voilent act when he gave them to Farook, he could be face federal felony charges. He talked to investigators after waiving his right to have an attorney present.

Neighbors said Marquez and Farook often worked together on cars in Farook’s garage in their younger years but that the friendship had cooled in the past three years.

Farook and Malik were killed in a police shootout hours after their assault.

But at a press conference, Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey said there was “no evidence” that they posting their commitment to jihad on social media, and that they were not affiliated to any specific terror cell.

These communications took place in late 2013, before Syed Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 29, got engaged, married and then lived together in the United States. Should the friend and relative of Syed Farook be charged and convicted with conspiracy to commit murder or terrorism, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

President Barack Obama is planning to hold private meetings Friday in San Bernardino with families who lost loved ones in the attack.