LOS ANGELES (Wires) — A man who bought the assault rifles used by his friend in the San Bernardino massacre has been charged with terrorism-related counts.
Federal prosecutors say Enrique Marquez was charged Thursday with conspiring with Syed Rizwan Farook to commit terrorism in 2011 and 2012.
Marquez also was charged with illegally purchasing two assault rifles used by Farook and his wife to kill 14 people at a holiday gathering of Farook’s health department co-workers on Dec. 2.Gallery: 14 dead in California massacre
Marquez, 24, previously told investigators he didn’t know about the plans for the San Bernardino attack, U.S. officials have said.
But he has acknowledged that he bought the two AR-15s for Farook several years ago, and he told investigators about a 2012 attack plot that he said he and Farook conceived but did not carry out, U.S. officials told CNN.
Since the San Bernardino shootings, he has waived his Miranda rights, cooperated with investigators and provided information, according to the officials. Marquez also checked himself into a mental health facility, CNN reported.
Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, opened fire on Farook’s coworkers during a workplace holiday party. The couple were shot and killed by police hours later.
Authorities have deemed the shooting a terror attack.
Both U.S.-born Farook and Pakistan native Malik expressed commitment to Islamic jihad and martyrdom in direct, private online messages in late 2013, months before Malik moved to the United States to live with Farook, FBI Director James Comey has said.
Malik also pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Badghadi in a Facebook post as the San Bernardino attack was happening, three U.S. officials familiar with the investigation told CNN.
Authorities still are trying to learn more about whom the killers interacted with, how they hatched and carried out the plot and why.
CNN and Associated Press contributed to this report.