Feds Charge Friend Who Allegedly Bought Rifles Used by San Bernardino Shooters

A Riverside man accused of purchasing the two semi- automatic rifles used in the mass shooting in San Bernardino was charged today with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

Enrique Marquez, 24, a former next-door neighbor of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, is expected to appear in federal court this afternoon in Riverside.

In addition to the conspiracy charge, Marquez was also charged with making a false statement while purchasing a firearm and immigration fraud.

According to court papers, Marquez and Farook plotted in 2011 to carry out an attack on Riverside Community College and the 91 Freeway. That attack never materialized.

Federal authorities said earlier that Marquez purchased the rifles used in the San Bernardino shooting in 2011 and 2012.

“Mr. Marquez conspired with Mr. Farook to commit vicious attacks, as set for in today’s charges,” U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said. “Even though these plans (in 2011) were not carried out, Mr. Marquez’s criminal conduct deeply affected San Bernardino County, Southern California and the entire United States when the guns purchased by Marquez were used to kill 14 innocent people and wound many others.”

Decker said there is no evidence Marquez took any active part in the Dec. 2 attack in San Bernardino. But federal prosecutors said that in addition to purchasing the two AR-15-style rifles, Marquez also purchased explosive material that was used to build a pipe bomb found at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino following the shooting.

FULL PATCH COVERAGE ON THE SAN BERNARDINO TERRORIST ATTACK:

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• Supes Discuss How Prepared County Facilities Are For Active Shooter Situation
• PHOTOS, VIDEO: Candlelight Vigil for San Bernardino Victims
• Terror Attacks Deeply Personal for People of LA, Says Mayor
• Donald Trump: No More Muslims Coming To America
• Donald Trump, ISIS and Gun Control: 5 Things From Obama’s Oval Office Address
• Two Candlelight Vigils Planned Tonight for San Bernardino Victims
• Obama: The Terror Threat Has Evolved Into a New Phase
• Obama to Address Nation on Measures to Keep Country Safe After San Bernardino Massacre
• Beware of Possible Hoax Terrorist ‘Plans’ on Malls, Movie Theaters: Sheriff
• FBI Raids Home of San Bernardino Shooter’s Friend
• SUV Cleared, FBI Takes Lead, Victims Mourned: Latest in San Bernardino Terror Investigation
• ISIS Calls San Bernardino Shooters ‘Supporters’
• Alameda County Lowers Flags to Honor Victims of San Bernardino Massacre
• Muslim Community Upset Over L.A. County Supervisor’s ‘Muhammad’ Remark
• San Bernardino Shooting Declared an Act of Terrorism
• Candlelight Vigil Held for Victims of San Bernardino Shooting
• California Shooter Pledged Allegiance To ISIS: Reports
• Victims Identified in San Bernardino Mass Shooting
• Investigators Sort Through 3 Crime Scenes in California’s Deadly Mass Shooting
• RivCo Has Strong Connection to San Bernardino Shootings
• California Mass Shooting: What We Know About Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik
• Day After California Massacre, San Bernardino Residents Trapped in Homes
• Investigators Try to Determine If San Bernardino Attack Is Terrorism or Workplace Rampage
• NFL Giants Safety Nat Berhe Reveals His Cousin Among Slain in San Bernardino
• 2015 ‘Mass Shootings’ In The United States: More Than One A Day
• In Wake of Mass Shooting, Gov. Brown Cancels Tree Lighting Ceremony
• How You Can Help Survivors of the San Bernardino Mass Shooting
• Shooting Spree in San Bernardino Leaves At Least 14 Dead, 17 Injured

(Image courtesy of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department)

– By City News Service.