By Mark Ellis
David Bowditch speaks to reporters
The San Bernardino terror couple who killed 14 at an employee holiday
party last week had been extremists for an extended period of time, an
FBI official told NBC News.
“As the investigation has progressed, we have learned and believe
that both subjects were radicalized and had been for quite some time,”
David Bowdich, the FBI’s assistant director in L.A., told reporters.
“The question we’re trying to get at is how did that happen, and by
whom, and where did that happen. And I will tell you right now we don’t
know those answers at this point,” he said.
The couple who terrorized a community
In the days since Syed Farook and Tafsheen Malik attacked co-workers
at their holiday lunch, authorities have been trying to determine why
the couple acted with such wanton violence, and were even willing to
leave behind a 6-month-old daughter.
The questions have focused primarily on Malik, 29, a Pakistani
national who reportedly posted a Facebook message just before the attack
pledging allegiance to the leader of Islamic State. She also posted
extremist messages on Facebook before and after her arrival in the U.S.
But Bowdich said it is not clear whether anyone else is responsible
for the radicalization, since it is possible to be self-radicalized via
the internet.
Bowdich also revealed that Farook and Malik conducted target practice
at local gun ranges prior to the attack, including a session a few days
earlier, according to NBC.
He also said it was unclear whether anyone in the U.S. or outside the
U.S. gave the couple direct help to carry out the attacks, which
appeared to involve extensive planning and financial resources beyond
Farook’s meager government salary. The fact that they destroyed their
cell phones and computer hard drives leads some observers to believe
they were involved with other extremists.
Indeed, Farook was in contact with individuals under investigation by government authorities.
Enrique Marquez
Investigators have questioned a childhood friend of Farook’s, Enrique
Marquez, 29, who bought the assault-style rifles used in the attack,
Bowdich said. Marquez has been unavailable for questioning because he
checked himself into a mental health facility in Long Beach, California
following the incident.
Farook’s mother, who lived with the couple, has also been questioned
about what she knew before the attacks. Bowdich said he wasn’t sure if
investigators were done talking to her. She has maintained she was
unaware of the couple’s extensive bomb-making operation, weapons and
ammunition stored at the home.