Shooter, gun buyer related by marriage

Pair were plotting an attack in 2012, senator reveals

RIVERSIDE, CALIF. • The gunman who massacred co- workers in the San Bernardino rampage and the friend who bought the assault rifles used in the shooting were related through marriage and may have plotted an attack three years ago.

New revelations from officials and public records show a much deeper connection between Syed Rizwan Farook and Enrique Marquez than has been disclosed.

The high-powered weapons Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used in the killings were bought at least three years ago by Marquez.

FBI Director James Comey

Marquez called his mother to say he was safe, but not coming home

also told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday the two shooters were radicalized well before Malik arrived in the U. S. and discussed jihad and martyrdom as early as 2013.

Investigators are trying to determine if Farook’s path toward extremism predated that time and whether it led to plans for an attack in 2012.

Marquez and Farook “were plotting an actual attack” that year, including buying weapons, but became nervous and shelved the plan, said Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, a Republican who sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Marquez, 24, spoke with federal authorities after they raided his mother’s Riverside house.

Marquez and Farook were friends for years before becoming related by marriage. In 2011, Farook’s brother, Raheel , wed a Russi a n woman, Tatiana in 2011. In 2014, Marquez wed her sister, Mariya Chernykh.

Right after the shootings, Marquez called his mother to say he was safe, but wouldn’t be coming home. He later checked into a mental health facility. It’s unclear where he is now.