FBI says mosque shooting suspects drew inspiration from mass killers
More information has become available about the two teenagers accused of carrying out Monday’s deadly attack at a San Diego mosque, which left three people dead.
Investigators said the two — identified as 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez — met online, where authorities said they self-radicalized.
Mark Remily, the lead FBI agent in San Diego, said the two “didn’t discriminate on who they hated.”
The Associated Press reports the two shared writings online, including anti-semitic rhetoric and hate directed at Muslims, the LGBTQ+ community, Black people, women and people across the political spectrum. Authorities said both expressed beliefs about white people being replaced or eliminated.
New details about the attack
In an update on Tuesday, the FBI said it found evidence the pair drew inspiration from previous mass shooters, including the gunman who carried out the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack in New Zealand.
Investigators said Clark and Vazquez filmed Monday’s attack and posted it online. Authorities also said they left behind what the FBI described as a manifesto before taking their own lives.
“The vehicle they used, we also identified writings and various ideologies outlining religious and racial beliefs of how the world they envision should look. These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated,” Mark Remily, the lead FBI agent in charge, said.
Remembering the victims
As the investigation moves forward, the community continues to mourn the three men killed.
One, mosque security guard Amin Abdullah, is being hailed as a hero after investigators said he triggered a lockdown alert at the mosque’s school and confronted the attackers, actions police say may have saved countless lives.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
