Mother reported son missing before attack

A shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego has left three people dead, with the two teenage shooters identified as Caleb Liam Vazquez, 18, and Cain Lee Clark, 17, according to the San Diego Police Department.

The shooters appeared to have met online and exchanged radicalized ideology, said Mark Remily, the special agent in charge of FBI San Diego.

A vigil was held Tuesday evening to honor the three victims, with community members gathering at a park near the mosque to pay their respects, led by Imam Taha Hassane, the director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, with prayers and a recognition of the impact of violence on the community.

According to the report, they shared a live video of the shooting as well as a lengthy written document citing racist, Islamophobic, and antisemitic ideology.

A photo of the vehicle used in the attack shows a red gas canister with a Nazi symbol emblazoned on it, which was removed from the car, and video obtained by authorities appears to capture the vehicle in the mosque attack firing shots out a window on a suburban street near the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Bobby Wallace, a member of the Kumeyaay Nation, described the shooting as “a sickness that’s spreading everywhere,” and encouraged people to “keep their faith” to make change in the world, while Reverend Meg Decker reminded those gathered that mourning is a blessing because it reminds us of the price and value of love.

The investigation is still in its early stages, and authorities are working to get more information about the two teenagers, said Remily, who also stated that a “manifesto” was recovered by law enforcement, which covered “a wide aspect of races and religions.”

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 have said, and the family of Amin Abdullah, the security guard who died in the shooting, praised him for his heroic actions in preventing more deaths.

His daughter, Hawaa Abdullah, said her father was vigilant in protecting children in the mosque and stood against any form of hate, and Abdullah Tahiri, president of the Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego, said yesterday’s shooting was a “direct and predictable consequence of a political climate” tolerant of anti-Muslim sentiment.

Tahiri added that words have consequences and political rhetoric is not harmless chatter, but a dog whistle that arms extremists with a sense of validation, and it was reported that the mother of one of the shooting suspects reported her son, car, and weapons missing hours before the mosque attack.

The mother’s report has raised concerns about whether more could have been done to prevent the attack, and as the investigation continues, the community is left to mourn the loss of three lives and to come to terms with the tragedy that occurred.

The Bright Horizon Academy, a Pre-K to 12th-grade school located inside the Islamic Center of San Diego, is working with law enforcement and safety experts to evaluate and strengthen their emergency protocols, and a board member of the school said they are grateful that their emergency protocols and staff training helped save lives, but acknowledged that no security plans can prevent or take away the trauma of such a tragedy, much like learning to deal with unexpected learning challenges.