{"id":653623,"date":"2026-05-20T03:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T03:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/653623\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T03:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T03:09:12","slug":"teens-suspected-in-mosque-shooting-met-online-where-they-were-radicalized-fbi-says-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/653623\/","title":{"rendered":"Teens suspected in mosque shooting met online, where they were radicalized, FBI says \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Investigators believe that two teens who killed three people<\/a> at San Diego\u2019s largest mosque before fatally shooting themselves met online, where they were radicalized by hate, authorities said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

A manifesto had been recovered, and Monday\u2019s attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego is being investigated as a hate crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t discriminate on who they hated,\u201d Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily from the FBI\u2019s San Diego office told reporters at a news conference. \u201cIt covered a wide aspect of races and religions, more than just the Islamic people in that church.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shooters have been identified as Cain Lee Clark, 17, and Caleb Liam Vazquez, 18. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said that, after meeting each other online, the teens came to realize they both lived in the San Diego area. \u201cBut in terms of how the radicalization occurred, we\u2019re still digging into all that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Inside the SUV the teens used during Monday\u2019s attack, Remily said, investigators identified \u201cwritings and various ideologies outlining religious and racial beliefs of how the world they envision should look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authorities did not offer more details on any of the writings they found. Manifestos that purport to be authored by the suspects are circulating online and have been reviewed by extremism experts and by The San Diego Union-Tribune.<\/p>\n

The manifestos \u2014 together consist of 75 pages rife with slurs and neo-Nazi symbols \u2014 call for the massacre of a cross-section of religious and ethnic groups and others. The works also cite neo-Nazi or White supremacist ideology.<\/p>\n

In the manifestos, the authors call themselves followers of the White supremacist who shot and killed 51 people and injured scores of others at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. That gunman was also cited by the shooter in the San Diego area\u2019s deadly Chabad of Poway synagogue shooting later that year.<\/p>\n

Remily said 30 guns and a crossbow, belonging to the parents of one of the teens, were recovered as part of their investigation. Authorities searched three homes associated with the teens and seized \u201cnumerous\u201d firearms \u2014 pistols, rifles, shotguns \u2014 from two locations. They also recovered ammunition, tactical gear and electronics.<\/p>\n

Asked to verify online video footage of the teens apparently livestreaming the incident, Wahl said he was \u201caware of that information\u201d and that investigators were still going through electronics.<\/p>\n

Gun battle at mosque<\/p>\n

Two hours before the attack Monday, the mother of the younger suspect, Clark, reported to police that her son had gone missing, that he was possibly suicidal and that he\u2019d taken her vehicle and guns. He was with an 18-year-old companion, and the two were wearing camouflage, according to police.<\/p>\n

Police, sensing a larger public threat, tried to track down the teens. Then reports of a shooting came in at the Islamic Center.<\/p>\n

The teens arrived at the Islamic Center of San Diego around 11:40 a.m., and a security guard in the parking lot engaged them in a gun battle, Wahl said.<\/p>\n

Security video shows the guard reach for his radio to call for a lockdown of the mosque, which alerted people inside, including students and staff at the center\u2019s school, to danger and helped them get to safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis actions without a doubt delayed, distracted, and ultimately deterred these two individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet,\u201d Wahl said.<\/p>\n

The gun battle continued, and the guard was fatally shot. The gunmen entered the mosque and started moving room to room, but found no one.<\/p>\n

The chief said video shows one of the teens pointing to a window, then both headed outside to the parking lot, where they cornered and fatally shot two other members of the mosque.<\/p>\n

The pair immediately ran to their vehicle and headed out as police approached. \u201cThe massive response that was just seconds away undoubtedly pushed both of the suspects to run back to their vehicle and flee,\u201d Wahl said.<\/p>\n

Authorities said the teens shot at a landscaper a few blocks away, then drove a few more blocks, stopped the SUV in the middle of a road and killed themselves.<\/p>\n

As police searched the vehicle, a red plastic gas container sat on the ground behind the SUV where the teens were found, bearing the Nazi SS symbol \u2014 two lightning bolts \u2014 imagery connected to White supremacy and neo-Nazis.<\/p>\n

One of the homes police searched was on Paradise Trail in Chula Vista. Neighbors said Vazquez\u2019s family had lived there for years and described them as nice people. One neighbor said he occasionally saw Vazquez driving down the street.<\/p>\n

Around noon Tuesday, a woman and a teenage boy arrived at the Paradise Trail home. Visibly emotional, the woman said she was related to one of the teens, but declined to identify herself or comment further.<\/p>\n

As she stood outside the home, another woman \u2014 a stranger to her \u2014 approached and offered condolences. The two women hugged and cried.<\/p>\n

Victims honored<\/p>\n

The three slain victims were praised by public officials and community members alike for actions and heroism that local Muslim leaders said saved lives.<\/p>\n

The men were identified Tuesday as Mansour Kaziha, Nader Awad and Amin Abdullah, who was also identified by police as Brian Climax.<\/p>\n

Taha Hassane, the center\u2019s imam, said all three sacrificed their lives for the good of others. He echoed Wahl in saying that if it wasn\u2019t for Abdullah, 51, the \u201ccarnage\u201d would have been much worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he didn\u2019t do what he did, and he sacrificed his life, the two suspects could have easy access to every single classroom,\u201d Hassane said. \u201cWe\u2019re so proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hassane said Kaziha, 78, had been a part of the Islamic Center since it broke ground 40 years ago, and the grandfather was Hassane\u2019s most reliable congregant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last 22 years being the imam and director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, I have never done anything without him,\u201d Hassane said. \u201cHe is on the top of my list for people to call.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaziha, the imam said, was the first to call 911 when the shooting started.<\/p>\n

Hassane said Nader Awad, 57, lived across the street from the center, where he went every single day for prayer. His wife was a school teacher there.<\/p>\n

Officials have not yet disclosed what types or how many weapons the teens were armed with and did not say what kind of firearm Abdullah had. Past videos of Abdullah that were shared on social media showed him wearing a tactical vest and carrying a pistol on his hip with multiple extra magazines on his belt.<\/p>\n

Officials with the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, said the Islamic Center, founded about 40 years ago, is the largest religious gathering space for Muslims in San Diego. \u201cIt is also home to a school and as a result of this horrific attack, hundreds of children are now traumatized, along with the community at large who fear for the safety of their families,\u201d CAIR said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, this was not the first threat against the mosque and school,\u201d officials added. \u201cYesterday those threats turned deadly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hassane \u2014 who had been onsite when the attack occurred \u2014 said he\u2019d never expected such violence to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, we are used to receiving hate mails, hate messages, people driving by and cursing and all that stuff. But such horrible crime, we have never expected this,\u201d the imam said.<\/p>\n

Community support<\/p>\n

A heavy police presence could be seen at the Islamic Center on Tuesday, including uniformed officers, parked patrol cars and at least one officer leading a police dog to sniff around the outside of the building.<\/p>\n

On the driveway gate to the center, a memorial of flowers grew. Jeri Newell-Davis, a pastor at United Methodist Church in Linda Vista, stopped by to drop off flowers at the gate and then went onto the grounds to talk with the imam.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing of faith, we are all \u2026 family,\u201d she said. \u201cImam and I, and other interfaith leaders, were praying on the National Day of Prayer together for unity. That brings us together as family. We are all praying for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Garman, a 22-year-old college student home for the summer, also dropped off a bouquet. Garman and his parents have lived in the area for a long time, and he was home Monday when he heard sirens go \u201con and on and on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garman said that as he took a morning walk to grab a coffee, he would often greet the security guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was always smiling with a \u2018Good morning\u2019 and waving, and always like, \u2018God bless you, have a good day, I hope God gives you what you want today,\u2019\u201d Garman said.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday evening, hundreds of people from various faiths and backgrounds attended a vigil in Lindbergh Neighborhood Park near the Islamic Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese attacks are meant to isolate us,\u201d said Hussam Ayloush, CEO of CAIR California. \u201cThey are meant to make communities feel afraid, abandoned and alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut tonight we stand together,\u201d Ayloush said. \u201cTonight we grieve together. Tonight we cry together\u2026 But tomorrow we rise together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff writers Alex Riggins, Kristen Taketa, Hannah Elsmore and Caleb Lunetta contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Investigators believe that two teens who killed three people at San Diego\u2019s largest mosque before fatally shooting themselves…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,2356,281781,69156,2558,983,3,7155,7156,2557,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-653623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-california","tag-clairemont","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-county","tag-top-stories-sdut","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}