By Julianna Bragg, CNN<\/p>\n
(CNN) \u2014 A teen in North Carolina who prosecutors say played a key role in the deadly San Diego mosque shooting<\/a> \u2014 by livestreaming the attack and disseminating the shooters\u2019 writings \u2014 is facing murder charges in her home state.<\/p>\n Under North Carolina\u2019s aiding-and-abetting laws, which can hold someone criminally responsible for a crime even if they did not personally carry out the acts, 17-year-old Sarah Santiago<\/a> faces three counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.<\/p>\n Prosecutors say Santiago can be held responsible for the three killings because she assisted the shooters in carrying out the attack from behind the scenes, despite not being at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the site of the attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe law in North Carolina is clear: A person may be guilty of a crime, although he or she personally does not do any of the acts necessary to constitute the crime,\u201d Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O\u2019Neill said in August.<\/p>\n Authorities say on May 18, Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, opened fire on San Diego\u2019s largest mosque, killing beloved community members <\/a>Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad \u2014 hailed as heroes for their actions thwarting further killings \u2014 before the gunmen died by suicide, according to law enforcement.<\/p>\n Santiago is accused of aiding and abetting the murders of the three men by \u201cagreeing and planning prior to the attack\u201d to livestream it, publicly distributing the recording and releasing a manifesto \u201cpurporting to justify the attack,\u201d the indictment<\/a> alleges.<\/p>\n Santiago has not entered a plea, her attorney Alan Doorasamy said Friday. Last month, he told CNN in an email that \u201cat this time I can confirm that my client is innocent of all these charges.\u201d<\/p>\n Ronald Wright, a criminal law professor at Wake Forest University, described the circumstances of Santiago\u2019s case as highly \u201cunusual\u201d for North Carolina, as she faces prosecution on the opposite side of the country from California.<\/p>\n San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan told CNN that North Carolina was given priority to lead the prosecution because, unlike California law \u2014 which requires a judge to hold a \u201ctransfer hearing\u201d<\/a> to consider moving the case from youth to adult court \u2014 North Carolina law allows for a juvenile to be initially charged and prosecuted as an adult in certain circumstances, such as murder charges.<\/p>\n Santiago\u2019s next hearing is scheduled for September 21, the first of what could be a lengthy series of court proceedings as the case moves forward.<\/p>\n Her attorney, Doorasamy, told CNN that, as of Thursday, the state had not provided him with discovery, adding he will file motions to compel discovery by September 21 if necessary.<\/p>\n Gunmen\u2019s writings contained radicalized ideology<\/p>\n Before the attacks, prosecutors say Santiago bought and sent Vazquez a Sonnenrad patch, which the indictment alleges he wore during the shooting. A Sonnenrad is viewed as a neo-Nazi and white supremacist hate symbol.<\/p>\n Authorities believe the shooters \u201cexchanged radicalized ideology,\u201d some of which was in the \u201cmanifesto\u201d police found that covered \u201ca wide aspect of races and religions.\u201d Hate speech was also found scrawled on one of the weapons used in the attack, and a suicide note contained writings about racial pride, officials said.<\/p>\n More than 30 guns, including numerous pistols, rifles and shotguns, a crossbow, tactical gear, ammunition and electronics, were found by authorities while executing three search warrants at residences associated with the attackers.<\/p>\n Clark\u2019s mother called police officers<\/a> after she found an alleged suicide note written by her son, who vanished with a man he met online she had never seen before \u2014 both dressed in camouflage, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. She also reported several weapons from the home were missing, the police chief said.<\/p>\n Vazquez had been in a mental health program up until the day before the shooting, a federal law enforcement official told CNN.<\/p>\n On the morning of the shooting, Vazquez\u2019s mother received a call from employees at the facility, who said her son was missing<\/a>, according to The Associated Press. Video footage recorded Vazquez as he left the facility at 8 p.m. the night before.<\/p>\n Law enforcement also filed a gun violence emergency protective order in 2025, after Vazquez was placed on a psychiatric hold, to seize firearms in his parents\u2019 home amid concerns about the teenager\u2019s \u201csuspicious behavior idolizing Nazis and mass shooters,\u201d court documents show<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following the mosque attack, the shooters planned to commit mass murder at a Jewish temple and target African American students at a public high school, authorities said. But the attackers may have stopped because one of them was wounded by an armed security officer at the mosque, federal law enforcement officials told CNN.<\/p>\n What happens next?<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s hearing is expected to be preliminary in nature, Wright said, though it\u2019s unlikely that a significant amount of new information will be revealed, given that officials have already released the indictment and made previous statements.<\/p>\n Wright said some of the central questions for the jury would include whether prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Santiago\u2019s actions aided and abetted the killings and that she intended to cause the death of another human being.<\/p>\n