After San Bernardino massacre, suspect Enrique Marquez Jr. made dramatic 911 call

, Richard A. Serrano, Joseph Serna and Marisa Gerber

Dec. 18, 2015 12:43 PM PT

Enrique Marquez Jr., 24, was charged Thursday with conspiring with Syed Rizwan Farook in 2011 and 2012 to commit crimes of terrorism, as well as unlawfully purchasing two assault rifles used in the San Bernardino massacre and defrauding immigration authorities by entering into a sham marriage.

There is no evidence Marquez collaborated with Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 29, in the Dec. 2 shooting, officials said. A day afterward, Marquez called 911, according to a transcript included in the affidavit:

911 operator: And what’s wrong? Why do you feel like you want to kill yourself? What’s going on?

Marquez: I don’t know. My neighbor. He did the San Bernardino shooting.

911 operator: Your neighbor did what?

Marquez: He did the San Bernardino shooting.

911 operator: Your neighbor was in the San Bernardino shooting? He died or what, he was the shooter or what?

Marquez: (Silence)

911 operator: He was the shooter?

Marquez: The [expletives] used my gun in the shooting.

911 operator: You said he used your gun?

Marquez: Yes. Oh my god.

911 operator: How do you know it’s your gun?

Marquez: They can trace all the guns back to me.

911 operator: It wasn’t. How did he get your gun?

Marquez: I couldn’t have it at home because I have brothers and then I got moved and then I can’t have it around.

911 operator: So you gave him your gun?

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Marquez: Only for safe storage.

911 operator: It was in storage?

Marquez: Yeah.

911 operator: How did he get it out of storage?

Marquez: It wasn’t in storage. To me, he was reliable enough for him for storage, like to store my gun.

911 operator: Oh, you had him store your gun?

Marquez: Yeah. And then he... Why did he have to do it?

911 operator: What was the guy’s name that had your gun?

Marquez: It’s Syed Farook.

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Richard Winton

Richard Winton is an investigative crime writer for the Los Angeles Times and part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2011. Known as @lacrimes on Twitter, during almost 30 years at The Times he also has been part of the breaking news staff that won Pulitzers in 1998, 2004 and 2016.

Richard A. Serrano

Richard A. Serrano was a federal law enforcement and terrorism reporter in the Los Angeles Times’ Washington, D.C., bureau. He left The Times in 2015.