The FBI has revealed that two teenagers who carried out a deadly attack on a mosque in San Diego bonded online over white supremacist hate before discovering they lived in the same area. Investigators say Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, met online and spiraled into violent extremism, embracing racist and hateful ideologies targeting Muslims, Jews, Black people, women, the LGBTQ+ community, and both sides of the political spectrum.
“They didn’t discriminate on who they hated,” FBI agent Mark Remily said Tuesday. The teens allegedly referred to themselves as the “Sons of Tarrant,” a nod to the Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand that killed 51 worshippers in 2019.
Attack at Islamic Center of San Diego
On Monday, the pair turned the Islamic Center of San Diego into a scene of terror. Police say they killed three men before taking their own lives. The death toll could have been far worse if not for the bravery of the victims. Security guard Amin Abdullah confronted the attackers, exchanging gunfire and preventing them from reaching 140 schoolchildren nearby. “He sacrificed his life to stop them from getting inside the classrooms,” Imam Taha Hassane said.
After being wounded, Abdullah kept firing, driving the attackers back outside before they fatally shot him. The gunmen then stormed through empty rooms during a lockdown before heading to the parking lot, where they killed Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad. Officials say the two men drew the shooters away from the building, potentially saving more lives.
Arsenal and Writings
Investigators uncovered a disturbing arsenal: at least 30 guns, ammunition, and a crossbow spread across two homes. Writings linked to the teens include neo-Nazi symbols, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and claims that white people were being “eliminated.” One teen wrote about mental health struggles and rejection by women. Officials are scrambling to determine whether the teens were planning even more attacks.
Community Shock
The attack has sent shockwaves through San Diego’s Muslim community and reignited fears over rising hate crimes against Muslims and Jews nationwide. The Islamic Center of San Diego, the city’s largest mosque, also houses Al Rashid School, where children as young as 5 study Arabic, Islamic studies, and the Quran. Community members described the mosque as a welcoming place. “Every person at that masjid will smile at you,” said worshipper Josie-Ana Edenshaw.
Mosque leaders admitted they had long dealt with harassment and threats. “We are used to receiving hate mails, hate messages, people driving by and cursing,” Hassane said. “But such horrible crime, we have never expected this.”
