Authorities are focused on determining if the San Bernardino terrorists had help carrying out their deadly attack — be it aid acquiring guns, tactical training or financial assistance.
Investigators have not found any evidence that Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik were part of a terrorist cell or carried out the attack, which killed 14 people and injured 21, on behalf of any larger organization.
But reports indicating thousands of dollars were deposited into Farook’s bank account two weeks before the attack and investigators’ disclosure that two of the weapons used had been purchased by a friend of the attacker have raised questions about assistance the couple may have had.
Fox News reported that more than $28,000 was deposited into Farook’s bank account just two weeks before the attack, which was carried out at a holiday party thrown by the government agency where he was employed. The deposit was reportedly made by WebBank.com on Nov. 18.
An FBI spokesman declined Tuesday to comment on the deposit.
According to San Bernardino County public records, Farook made $53,000 a year at his job as an environmental health inspector. Malik, who had given birth to a daughter in May, was not employed.
SEE ALSO: Jeh Johnson: New terror threat warning system on the way
The cache of weapons, ammunition and bomb-making materials found inside the couple’s home has raised suspicion over the source of funding for the materials, given the couple’s limited salary.
“I believe on his salary, he was not able to buy this on his own,” Rep. Michael T. McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
The Muslim couple was killed in a shootout with police hours after the attack.
Farook purchased three of the guns used between 2007 and 2012, but two other weapons were purchased by his friend, Enrique Marquez, said John D’Angelo, an assistant special agent in charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Authorities have interviewed Mr. Marquez, though it was unclear under what circumstances. The Los Angeles Times reported that he entered a mental hospital after the attacks.
The interview with Mr. Marquez is one of about 400 interviews that David Bowdich, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said have been conducted thus far as part of the investigation. More than 320 pieces of evidence have been collected, including cell phones belonging to Farook and Malik that were discovered smashed in a trash can. Forensics experts are examining the phones and other items to try to reconstruct communications the couple had.
SEE ALSO: San Bernardino shooters had target practice before massacre: FBI
But determining whether others involved in their daily lives, including Farook’s mother, may have also known more than they’ve let on about the couple’s radicalization or plans is also a priority.
“Obviously, it’s something that we’re looking at very, very closely,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Farook’s mother reportedly also lived in the home where the couple kept bomb-making materials, and many of her personal documents were found inside the home when reporters gained access to it last week.
A Daily Mail photographer obtained images of a search warrant receipt left in the mother’s Lexus sedan that showed that several shooting targets, an empty GoPro camera package, and tools were seized from the vehicle.
The FBI said Farook and Malik both practiced shooting targets at gun ranges, with Farook visiting the Riverside Magnum Range on Nov. 29 and 30, according to an instructor at the range.
Instructor John Galletta told The Associated Press that nothing was out of the ordinary about Farook’s behavior during the visit, but that Farook asked a range employee why his rifle might be smoking. He was told it was most likely because it was new.
Asked whether in hindsight he or others at the range should have been suspicious of Farook, Mr. Galletta said Monday: “How are you able to determine what somebody’s intents are?”
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.