Who were Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez? Islamic Center of San Diego shooting suspects identified

Both teenagers are believed to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, have been identified as the suspects in Monday’s shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Both teenagers are believed to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. No motive has been released so far.

Police respond to a reported active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego in San Diego, California. (AFP)

Possible hate crime

At a news conference, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

"At this point, there was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved," he said. “I’ll leave it at that for now.”

Anti-Islamic writings and suicide note

According to NBC News, anti-Islamic writings were found in the vehicle where the suspects' bodies were discovered.

Law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation, speaking to CNN, said one of the suspects had taken a firearm from a parent’s home and left behind a suicide note containing references to racial pride. Hate speech was also scrawled on one of the weapons used in the shooting. The specific language has not been publicly released.

Mother’s 911 call

The San Diego Police Department’s first call about the incident came at 9:42 a.m. from the mother of one of the suspects. She reported her son missing along with her firearms and car. The mother told police her son was suicidal and was likely with a friend. Both young men were wearing fatigues at the time.

Connection to nearby high school

Investigators linked one of the suspects to Madison High School, located roughly a mile from the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Timeline of the attack

At 11:43 a.m., police received reports of an active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Upon arrival, officers found three victims already dead inside the mosque. While searching the building, police received reports of a landscaper being shot several blocks away. Shortly afterward, dispatchers learned that the two suspects had been found dead inside a vehicle from self-inflicted gunshot wounds

“Officers were in the area still talking with mom, trying to piece together where they might be, the locations that she felt that they would be at, and that was just a few blocks away,” Wahl said. “Those officers, once they heard what was happening at the Islamic Center, immediately dispatched themselves to the mosque.”

Ongoing investigation

Authorities are currently serving search warrants as they continue to investigate.

“We’re going to continue following any leads and any information that comes forward as we’re all focused on figuring out how this happened and what could we have done to prevent it,” Wahl said.