Frightening new dashcam video has emerged showing the moment two teen killers, who had just attacked a San Diego mosque, opened fire on an innocent landscaper as they drove past him. Just minutes after killing three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego, Caleb Liam Vazquez, 18, and Cain Lee Clark, 17, fired again near the 7100 block of Salerno Street, about half a mile from the mosque.
The video captures gunfire blasts coming from inside a white BMW SUV driven by the suspects, shattering the car's windows. A local resident, who identified himself only as Jose, said he was walking his child in a stroller shortly before noon when a 'loud bang' rang out. 'It sounded like a gunshot, but when I looked left, the second gunshot shattered the windshield,' he told FOX 5.
The teens were apparently shooting at a landscape worker who survived but whose identity has not been disclosed. An unnamed homeowner in the area said the landscaper was bleeding but had not suffered a gunshot wound. 'I think maybe his helmet impact or the glass [helped], we are not sure,' he said. The landscaper, of Temecula, told FOX 5 that he was grateful to have survived.
Terrifying video captured Jose running away, stroller in tow, from the scene immediately after the shots were fired. Jose said he was 'blessed' to be in good health after the shooting, noting that many in his neighborhood felt similarly about the 'very scary' experience. 'These guys are firing shots at people, no one else was killed. It's a miracle,' he told the outlet. 'Not everybody was that lucky yesterday.'
Police and FBI Response
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl previously confirmed that law enforcement had received calls regarding a vehicle shooting at a landscaper. 'The landscaper is going to be okay but we are still investigating that scene,' Wahl said on Monday after the shooting. He added: 'It appears he may have been shot in the helmet. That deflected and saved his life, but that is not totally confirmed at this point.'
As of Tuesday, more than 30 guns had been recovered from homes linked with Vazquez and Clark. In total, the haul seized by authorities included pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, tactical gear and a crossbow. Mark Remily, the lead FBI agent in San Diego, said Tuesday that the teens appeared to have been radicalized online. 'These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated,' Remily added.
Radicalization and Manifesto
Authorities said they had found 'writings and various ideologies outlining racial beliefs of how the world they envision should look.' The writings contained hateful rhetoric toward Jewish people, Muslims and Islam, the gay community, black people, women and the political left and right, the Associated Press reported. Clark called for Muslims to be 'exterminated' as part of his messaging, according to the outlet. Vazquez wrote about how he believed his short stature caused him to fail with women in the 75-page document, according to a suspected manifesto obtained by the Daily Mail. Nazi and neo-Nazi imagery were featured prominently throughout the document, which also praised Adolf Hitler and other mass murderers.
The Attack and Victims
The teenagers filmed and livestreamed themselves as they looked around the Islamic Center for more victims. They first wounded father-of-eight Amin Abdullah, 51, a guard at the mosque's lobby. Abdullah used his radio to begin a lockdown protocol and kept firing back at the suspects before being fatally shot himself, police said. The two other victims were named as Mansour Kaziha, 78, and Nadir Awad, 57. Kaziha was a founding member of the Islamic Center, while Awad was the husband of a teacher at the mosque. Awad ran to the mosque after hearing shots being fired, according to information released by the City of San Diego.
Clark and Vazquez were found dead in the BMW after Clark shot Vazquez twice in the head before promptly taking his own life. Police previously said that one of the teenagers' mothers had called police that morning to report that her son had run away and that she believed him to be suicidal. However, police began looking at the situation as a 'larger threat' when she shared further details. 'Several of her weapons were missing, her vehicle was missing,' Wahl said Monday. 'She also said that her son was with a companion and that they were dressed in camo. That is not consistent with what we would typically see from somebody that is suicidal.' Law enforcement revealed on Tuesday that it had been Clark’s mom who called them.
