The two teenagers who carried out Monday’s shooting attack at a mosque in San Diego, California, killing three people, met online, were radicalized there and left behind texts and material expressing belief in white supremacy and hatred of Muslims, Jews and women, according to an initial investigation by U.S. authorities and a 75-page manifesto left by one of them.
The Associated Press reported that it obtained texts written by the two killers, 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vasquez, which included hate-filled rhetoric against Jews, Muslims, LGBTQ people and Black people, as well as against both the political left and right. Both expressed in their writings a belief that white people are being exterminated, blamed Jews for the world’s problems, voiced hatred for Donald Trump and described themselves as “Anti-MAGA,” opponents of the president’s movement. One of them also wrote about his mental health problems and rejections by women.
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Car in which the bodies of the two killers was found, and Caleb Vazquez- who begged his accomplice to kill him
(Photo: Gregory Bull/AP)
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Security forces at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Tuesday, a short time after the shooting spree
(Photo ABC Affiliate KGTV/Reuters)
CNN reported overnight that Clark left behind a 75-page manifesto that included racist, Islamophobic and antisemitic statements, as well as ideas associated with “incel” culture. The term “incel,” short for “involuntary celibate,” refers to members of an internet subculture of men who feel deep frustration over their inability to find romantic or sexual relationships. Such communities are often characterized by misogynistic worldviews, blaming women and modern society for their situation. The ideology is often linked to violent online discourse and, in extreme cases, has served as a motive for acts of violence and attacks around the world.
According to U.S. reports, the texts left by the two included calls for the “extermination of Muslims,” and a document written by one of them included symbols associated with white supremacists and Nazis. In the manifesto written by Clark, which apparently represented them both, they also praised Adolf Hitler and called themselves “sons of Tarrant,” an apparent reference to white supremacist terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who carried out the 2019 mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people. The manifesto portrayed him as a hero.
It emerged overnight that, like Tarrant in New Zealand, Clark and Vasquez also documented their killing spree and livestreamed it online. CNN obtained graphic videos they filmed, in which they are seen walking over the body of the security guard who tried to stop them. In the final clip, the two are seen sitting in a car after fleeing the mosque, with Cain Clark in the driver’s seat. Caleb Vasquez is seen turning to him and asking him to shoot him in the head. Clark then pulls out a handgun, shoots Vasquez twice in the head and then kills himself.
SS symbol and 30 weapons at home
Monday’s shooting attack took place at the Islamic Center of San Diego, a complex located about 9 miles from downtown San Diego. It houses the largest mosque in the county, as well as educational institutions, including a preschool. Children were in classrooms at the time and were filmed being evacuated while holding hands in a human chain. It later emerged that the deadly shooting at the mosque came at the end of a two-hour search for the two armed suspects.
The incident began at 9:42 a.m. Monday California time, 7:42 p.m. in Israel, when the mother of 17-year-old Clark called police and reported that her son was missing and that her car and several firearms she kept at home had disappeared, including a 9 mm handgun and a shotgun. She said her son had suicidal thoughts, and the fact that he had taken more than one weapon raised suspicions that he did not intend only to harm himself, but also to kill others.
Police learned that Clark was with another person and that the two were wearing camouflage uniforms. Over the next two hours, officers conducted an extensive search in an effort to locate them and also sent forces to Madison High School, where Clark was enrolled, fearing he might arrive there with the weapons and carry out a massacre.
At 11:43 a.m., officers received a report of an armed person who had opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego and began rushing to the scene. They found three people killed outside the mosque, then entered and moved room to room, breaking down doors in their search for the shooters.
At about the same time, shots were fired from a vehicle at a gardener working several blocks from the mosque. A bullet struck his helmet but ricocheted off, saving his life. A few minutes later, police found the two suspects in a BMW, both shot dead after apparently killing themselves. A sticker bearing the Nazi SS symbol from Hitler’s era was displayed on a fuel can near the car.
On Tuesday evening, it emerged that investigators learned Clark and Vasquez had first met online and initially did not know they both lived in San Diego. Later, after discovering that, they began advancing their plot. In raids on the families’ homes after the shooting, investigators found at least 30 weapons. Mark Remily, the FBI’s top official in San Diego, said authorities are now trying to determine whether the two had planned a larger rampage.
The bravery of security guard Abdullah, who saved 140 students
Over the past day, reports have grown about the acts of heroism by the three victims shot dead by the teenagers. The first was the mosque’s security guard, 51-year-old Amin Abdullah. Abdullah, who converted to Islam in the 1990s after high school, had worked at the mosque for 10 years and was described by worshippers as a smiling man who viewed protecting the site as sacred work.
When he noticed the teenagers approaching and realized their intentions were violent, he opened fire at them, engaged them in a gunbattle and called over the radio for the complex to be locked down. The mosque’s imam, Taha Hassan, said that, by doing so, he prevented them from quickly reaching some 140 students who were in the school on the premises at the time. “He sacrificed his life to prevent them from entering the classrooms.”
In fact, even after being hit by the teenagers’ gunfire, Abdullah continued shooting at them from outside as they moved between rooms inside the complex — rooms that had already been emptied following his warning. This forced them to return outside, where they shot him to death.
The two other victims then distracted them, drawing their attention to the parking lot. One was Mansour Kaziha, the mosque’s 78-year-old custodian, who was responsible, among other things, for repairs and cooking at the site. Kaziha was also the first to call 911 and summon security forces. The other victim was Nadir Awad, a 57-year-old Uber driver who lived near the mosque and whose wife works as a teacher at the school in the complex. When he heard the gunfire, he rushed from his home to the scene and was killed.
On Tuesday, additional details were published in the U.S. about the killer Cain Clark. The 17-year-old was a high school student whose family enrolled him in an online remote-learning program in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, while he also took part in sports activities at Madison High School. In 2024 and 2025, he was a member of the school’s wrestling team. Relatives told CNN he was a "good kid" and that they were shocked by his actions. At the time of his death, he was still enrolled in the online program and was expected to graduate next month.
Maren and Ted Salaya, Clark’s neighbors, said Tuesday evening that they saw him for the last time just hours before the shooting, and that he waved hello to them as he got into his car alone and drove away. They described his family as good neighbors and recalled watching Cain grow up.
“It’s unbelievable,” Maren said of the shooting. “He helped me bring in my groceries.”