California shooters had been radicalised 'for some time'

A former neighbour accused of supplying weapons to the couple who killed 14 people in California this month has been indicted by a federal grand jury on terror-related charges.

Enrique Marquez, 24, is accused of conspiring with San Bernardio gunman Syed Rizwan Farook in 2011 and 2012 to support a terrorist attack that was never carried out, as well as making false statements to federal authorities.

Farook, 28, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, 27, killed 14 people and injured 21 others in an attack on an office Christmas party on December 2.

Prosecutors have said there is no evidence Marquez knew about the San Bernardino attack, but Marquez is accused of buying two of the guns that were used in the shooting rampage.

He is charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists; two counts of making a false statement regarding the guns; and one count each of marriage fraud and making false statements in relation to an alleged sham marriage to a distant relative of Farook's.

A friend and former neighbour of one of the San Bernardino shooters has been charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

Enrique Marquez, 24, is said to have illegally purchased two assault rifles which were later used to kill 14 people.

Prosecutors said shooter Syed Rizwan Farook got Marquez to buy the guns as "his appearance was Caucasian, while Farook looked Middle Eastern".

US Attorney Eileen Decker said Marquez and Farook had previously conspired to commit "vicious" attacks on a California college and state highway during rush hour.

There was no evidence Marquez took part in the San Bernardino attack or had prior knowledge of it, prosecutors said.

Marquez appeared in court in California but did not enter a plea. If convicted, he faces up to 35 years in jail.

He is also charged with defrauding immigration authorities by entering into a sham marriage with a member of Farook’s family.

Shortly after the shooting, Marquez checked into a mental health facility before federal investigators searched his home.

Federal authorities are preparing criminal charges against a man who investigators say supplied guns to the married couple who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, government sources said.

Enrique Marquez, the friend and former neighbour of Syed Rizwan Farook, who carried out the attack with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, could be charged as early as Thursday with firearms offences, NBC reported, citing unnamed law enforcement officials.

Marquez, 24, who had known Farook since they were teenage neighbours in the city of Riverside, legally purchased the two AR-15 assault-style rifles that the couple used in their attack on December 2 at a holiday party of Farook's co-workers.

California shooters Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik had been radicalised "for quite some time" before killing 14 people in San Bernadino last week, the FBI has revealed.

Both took part in target practice, on one occasion just days before the deadly attack on an office Christmas party.

FBI assistant director David Bowdich told a press conference that officers still did not know where or by who the pair were radicalised, but said they would "leave no stone unturned" in their bid to find out.

He also revealed that 19 pipes which could have been turned into pipe bombs were found at their home.

Mr Bowdich said the FBI had found "evidence of pre-planning" but it was not clear if anyone else was involved in that.

Farook and Malik were killed in a shoot-out with police following the attack.

President Obama has asked the Department for Homeland Security to review the 'Fiancé Visa' programme used by the couple behind the California mass shooting last week.

During his Oval Office address the president announced a review of the "visa waiver programme" used by Tashfeed Malik to enter the United States.

A White House official later clarified the statement, saying he was referring to the K-1 'Fiancé Visa' system which allows foreign citizens to enter the country to marry American citizens.

The US government is also making a series of changes to its 'visa waiver programme' to screen travelers from 38 countries more closely.

US investigators are becoming increasingly convinced the California suspected shooters may have been planning multiple attacks, according to a US government source.

The investigators believe the shooters' weapon cache indicates that there may have been other planned attacks, but they are not sure about the targets, the source told Reuters.

They added that investigators believe the man of providing guns to the shooters has no apparent link to terrorism.

President Barack Obama is to address the nation on Sunday evening following the San Bernardino shooting that killed 14 people, the White House said.

He is to talk about the investigation into the San Bernardino attack and the "broader threat of terrorism, including the nature of the threat, how it has evolved, and how we will defeat it," the White House said in a statement.