In a tragic incident that has shaken the San Diego community, authorities have revealed that one of the mosque shooters left behind a disturbing suicide note infused with themes of racial pride. This unsettling revelation comes after the violent attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, where three individuals lost their lives.
Cain Clark, aged 17, along with 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez, carried out the attack around 11:40 a.m. on a Monday. The duo reportedly stole firearms and a vehicle from Clark’s home before targeting the mosque. In a chilling prelude to the violence, Clark’s mother had alerted the police about her son’s suicidal tendencies and his possible possession of weapons. Law enforcement was actively searching for Clark when the shooting unfolded.
The aftermath of the attack revealed the lifeless bodies of the two teenagers inside a car parked near the mosque, both having succumbed to self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Police discovered that one of the firearms in their possession was inscribed with hate speech, a detail corroborated by sources speaking to the LA Times.
When authorities searched Clark’s residence, located merely two miles from the mosque, they found a suicide note that disturbingly referenced ‘racial pride.’ Additionally, a gas canister marked with a Nazi SS sticker was discovered next to the BMW X1 vehicle where the suspects’ bodies were found, with a shotgun lying in close proximity.
In a poignant twist, it was revealed that Clark was a student at the San Diego Unified School District’s virtual learning academy and was on the verge of graduating high school this semester. This fact adds a layer of complexity to the narrative as the community grapples with the aftermath of this horrific event.
Clark was enrolled in a virtual learning academy at the San Diego Unified School District and was set to graduate from high school this semester, officials said.
He was previously a star wrestler at Madison High School, but had only been attending classes online for some time, as officials said he had spiraled into ‘hate speech.’
Clark’s grandparents, David and Deborah Clark, told CNN they have been left stunned and heartbroken by the tragedy, saying they were ‘trying to process this’ and were ‘very sorry for what happened.’
Cain Clark, 17, was one of two suspects who opened fire at a California mosque on Monday before taking his own life. The other, Caleb Vazquez, 18, has not yet been pictured
Images from the scene where the teenagers were found dead showed a red gasoline canister with a sticker resembling a Nazi SS logo, as a shotgun lay nearby
San Diego police said on Monday that hours before the tragedy, his department got a call from the teenager’s mom, who was concerned he was suicidal.
The parent, who has not been named, said she realized several of her guns were missing, and said she saw him and a companion wearing ‘camouflage outfits’, Chief Scott Wahl said.
He added that although Clark’s mother warned cops that her weapons were missing, she did not indicate any kind of planned attack on the mosque.
‘There was no specific threat, especially no specific threat to the Islamic Center,’ the police chief said.
‘It was just general hate kind of speech that I think covered a wide gamut.’
Police said they arrived at the Islamic Center within minutes of the shooting and found three people deceased in front of the building, including security guard Amin Abdullah, who was hailed as a hero as he saved lives during the chaos.
Several blocks away, a landscaper was also shot at but was not hit, and minutes later, police received a call about shots being fired down the street.
Clark and Vazquez were found dead inside a vehicle on Salerno Street, several streets away from the Islamic Center.
While authorities and police sources have revealed some details of Clark, little is known about Vazquez.
Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, was among those killed in the rampage
Authorities are now probing the shooting as a hate crime. An officer at one of the shooting suspect’s homes on Monday evening
When the teenagers opened fire, witness Vanessa Chavez told The New York Times she watched in horror as the security guard was struck by at least two gunshots while children playing outside were herded into the building.
As many as 100 officers then combed the mosque for any signs of the shooters, breaking down doors as they evacuated the Al Rashid school on campus, which serves students in kindergarten through third grade.
But the teenagers had already fled the scene, also shooting at a landscaper working on a nearby home as they made their escape.
As authorities now probe the shooting as a hate crime, they are looking into reported anti-Islamic writings that were found inside the vehicle where the boys were found dead.
The shooting at the San Diego Islamic Center came at the beginning of Dhu’l-Hijja, one of the holiest months on the Muslim calendar.
It translates to ‘month of the pilgrimage’ and marks a time when millions of Muslims across the world embark on the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
The Islamic Center of San Diego is the largest mosque in San Diego County, with around 5,000 members.
Officers arrived on the scene in just four minutes, as they had already been searching for the teenagers after one of their mothers alerted cops to the threat
The Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded politicians end their ‘campaign of hate’ following the deadly shooting
Neighbors raced to the scene of the mosque after the shots were fired
Although authorities have not yet established a motive, the attack on the religious center sparked concerns over Islamophobia among local officials.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement: ‘Hate has no home in San Diego. Islamophobia has no home in San Diego.
‘An attack on any one of our communities – on any San Diegan because of who they are, what they believe, or how they pray – is an attack on all of us.’
San Diego unified superintendent Fabi Bagula added that ‘hate has no place in our community or schools’ and that ‘every student family and community member deserves to feel safe, valued and able to worship and gather without fear.’
