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San Diego shooting: FBI gives chilling details on how shooters met and left writings expressing hate, ‘Sons of Tarrant’
Two teenagers radicalized online shot and killed three men at a San Diego mosque. Their writings reveal hatred towards various communities
Two teenagers who shot and killed three men during a shooting incident in a San Diego mosque in California were radicalized through online platforms where they initially connected and exchanged white supremacist ideologies, as per authorities and their own writings.
The duo “didn’t discriminate on who they hated,” stated Mark Remily, the chief FBI agent in San Diego, on Tuesday.
The documents, acquired by The Associated Press, contain hateful language directed at Jewish individuals, Muslims and Islam, as well as the LGBTQ+ community, Black individuals, women, and both the left and right sides of the political spectrum. They both conveyed the belief that white people are facing elimination, and one of them discusses mental health issues and experiences of rejection from women.
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San Diego shooting: What did authorities find?
Investigators also discovered a minimum of 30 firearms, ammunition, and a crossbow at two locations following the attack in San Diego on Monday, and they were attempting to determine if the assailants had more extensive plans, Remily said. The shooters, aged 17 and 18, took their own lives, according to police.
Authorities commended the three men they fatally shot — among them Amin Abdullah, a cherished security guard — for their efforts in hindering the assailants at the Islamic Center of San Diego, thereby preventing them from reaching 140 schoolchildren located just a few steps away.
Imam Taha Hassane remarked that Abdullah confronted the suspects in a gunfight and initiated a lockdown via his radio. He “sacrificed his life” to prevent them from entering the classrooms.
This shooting marks the most recent incident in a series of assaults on places of worship and occurs against a backdrop of escalating threats and hate crimes directed at the Muslim and Jewish communities since the onset of conflict in the Middle East, necessitating heightened security measures.
Writings reveal significant animosity held by the shooters
Authorities have not disclosed the identities of the suspects. However, the writings are attributed to Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez. Shortly after the shooting, investigators were observed searching the residence of Clark's parents in San Diego.
Authorities have said that there was no specific threat directed at the Islamic center, which is the largest mosque in San Diego and also accommodates a school, according to police. In Cain's writings, he advocates for the Muslims to be “exterminated.”
The document features symbols that have long been linked to white supremacist and Nazi ideologies. They both referred to themselves as "Sons of Tarrant," seemingly alluding to the white supremacist who perpetrated an attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, resulting in the deaths of 51 individuals.
Muslim American organizations have observed a surge in anti-Muslim rhetoric throughout the United States.
The two suspects connected online before realizing they both resided in the San Diego region, as reported by the FBI.
James Canning, a spokesperson for the San Diego Unified School District, mentioned that Clark had been participating in online schooling since 2021 and was scheduled to graduate next month. In 2024, he was a member of the wrestling team at Madison High School. Canning noted that Clark had no history of disciplinary problems during his high school years.
