Gay gunmen in deadly San Diego Islamic Center shooting believed to have met online

SAN DIEGO — The two shooters who carried out a deadly attack at a San
Diego-area Islamic Center near Balboa Avenue around noon on Monday, May
18, met online and exchanged radicalized ideology before killing three
people and then themselves, according to the San Diego Police
Department, which has identified the shooters as Caleb Liam Vazquez, 18,
and Cain Lee Clark, 17. 

Vazquez and Clark, parked in the Islamic Center's lot and ran past
security guard Amin Abdullah, 51, engaging in gunfire with him. Abdullah
returned fire and initiated lockdown protocols for the center via his
radio before being killed by Vazquez and Clark. 

Abdullah's actions delayed and deterred access to the greater area of
the facility, police said. 

The shooters then entered the building, accessed several empty areas and
rooms, and exited back into the parking lot. There, they encountered
Mansour Kaziha, 78, and Nadir Awad, 57, opening fire and killing both
men. 

The shooters fled in their vehicle into the neighborhood, where they
shot at a gardener who was uninjured. Shortly afterward, they shot and
killed themselves in the vehicle. Details around what happened during
this time remain unclear. 

Who are the two gunmen?
The San Diego Police Department has identified the shooters as Caleb
Liam Vazquez, 18, and Cain Lee Clark, 17. 

FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily said at a press conference on
Tuesday, May 19, the 17 and 18-year-old shooters met online and were
radicalized "to believe they didn't belong based [on] how they looked
and where they worshipped." 

Monday around 9:42 a.m., the mother of Cain Lee Clark contacted
authorities about her son, a student enrolled at iHigh Virtual Academy
since 2021, within the San Diego Unified School District, according to a
district official. Between 2024-25, Clark participated in wrestling as
an extracurricular activity at Madison High School, but was never
enrolled as a student at the high school. 

Officers then alerted the school. The mother said her teen son was a
runaway. When trying to piece together what happened with her son, she
saw several of her weapons were missing, along with her car. She
believed her son to be suicidal. 

She told officers her son was with a "companion," according to San Diego
Police Chief Wahl, and they were dressed in camouflage. 

License plate readers were used to track the missing vehicle, and
officers initially believed the mall in Fashion Valley was under threat.

While officers were working with the mother, Chief Wahl said, police
received a call of an active shooter at the mosque at 11:43 a.m.
Officers were on scene within four minutes, Chief Wahl said. He also
said every police officer available across the county dropped what they
were doing and ran toward the gunfire. 

The two shooters were found dead a few blocks away after killing three
men at the Islamic Center. They died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds on
the 2100 block of Hatton Street, according to Chief Wahl. 

A manifesto and livestreamed rampage  
CBS News obtained a 75-page manifesto that is believed to be put
together by Vazquez and Clark and is said to be riddled with "a
nihilistic mix of anti-Muslim, misogynistic, anti-Hispanic, anti-gay and
anti-trans hate rhetoric." It also blamed Jewish people for the ills of
the world. 

It is unclear if the shooters created it themselves or had
AI-assistance. 

In addition to the antisemitic slander, it also called for
"accelerationism," what is known to be one of the most violent
ideologies harbored by white supremacists. 

Accelerationism is the idea that society is irredeemable and promotes
its believers to partake in sabotage and violence to promote societal
collapse. Its primary objective is to create a white ethno-state in its
aftermath, according to the Anti-Defamation League. 

CBS News also referenced the widely circulated livestream the shooters
aired during the rampage. They allegedly referenced themselves as the
'sons' of the shooters who committed the 2019 shooting at a mosque in
Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed 51 people. The New Zealand
shooters also livestreamed their massacre. 

News 8 asked Chief Wahl about the livestream on Tuesday, but he did not
confirm its authenticity at the time. 

CBS News also reports a gun Vazquez and Clark used had the words "race
war" carved into it and that the teen shooters wore gear with Nazi
symbols resembling the "SS" insignias worn by Hitler's paramilitary
ranks. 

"In the vehicle they used, we also discovered writings of various
ideologies, outlining religious and racial beliefs of how they believe
the world they envision should look," Agent Remily said at Tuesday's
press conference. These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated.
Anyone who thinks they can end the world with violence are sorely
mistaken." 

What's next?
The FBI, working with the San Diego Police Department, is conducting
extensive interviews with the shooters' family and friends.
Investigators believe the two met online, discovered they both lived in
San Diego, and shared radicalized beliefs. 

The guns used in the attack were not registered to the shooters, and how
they obtained them remains under investigation. Law enforcement has
executed three search warrants at residences associated with them. 

During those searches, numerous firearms were seized from two locations,
including pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, tactical gear, and
electronics. Investigators have seized over 30 guns and a crossbow so
far. 

Search warrants have been executed on electronic devices that the
shooters carried during the attack, and investigators are seeking
additional warrants for other devices. 

Agent Remily asked anyone with tips to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit
information online. 

A vigil was held Tuesday evening for the victims at the Lindbergh
Neighborhood Park and another vigil will be held Wednesday, May 20 at
6:30 p.m. at the Silent Tree. 

The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, according to Chief
Wahl. The center is located at 7050 Eckstrom Ave, just south of Balboa
Avenue near the 805 freeway. It's the largest mosque in San Diego
County, acting both as a place of worship and a school. 

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/deadly-san-diego-islamic-center-s
hooters-identified/509-8d4c9120-1938-43b7-80ba-a89d843df9ba