One of the teenagers involved in the tragic shooting at a mosque in San Diego this week had previously caught the attention of law enforcement due to disturbing behaviors and a fascination with Nazi ideology. This concern led authorities to seize firearms from his father’s possession last year, as revealed by court documents.
Police, during a welfare check on Caleb Vazquez, noted his troubling interest in Nazi figures and mass shooters, prompting them to secure a court order on January 29, 2025. This order allowed them to confiscate 26 firearms under a California law enacted in 2014, which enables the removal of guns from individuals perceived as threats.
The affidavit signed by Marco Vazquez, Caleb’s father, stated that the family had willingly given up the guns several days prior to the confiscation order.
Investigators have disclosed that Vazquez, 18, connected with Cain Clark, 17, through online platforms, where both were influenced by extremist ideologies. However, the police have not elaborated on the nature of their relationship or identified which firearms were utilized during the incident.
According to law enforcement, Cain Clark’s mother reported missing firearms from her residence on Monday, which initiated an extensive search for the teenagers. Unfortunately, this search concluded with the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, after which the teens took their own lives.
Court documents have also highlighted the mental health challenges faced by the individuals involved.
Court filings show Vazquez decided to “secure all sharp knives in the home” and surrender the firearms that they had kept in a secure gun safe when they became aware of unspecified serious allegations against their son. He was also previously committed to an involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. The court filings, first reported by The New York Times, didn’t say what he was admitted for.
The Vazquez family said in a statement released Thursday that Caleb Vazquez was on the autism spectrum and had grown to resent parts of his identity — but didn’t specify what aspects were challenging to him.
“Coming from a diverse family that not only includes immigrants but Muslims as well, we always taught the importance of acceptance, compassion, and love for one another. We are proud of the different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and religions within our family and community,” their statement said.
“We believe this, combined with exposure to hateful rhetoric, extremist content, and propaganda spread across parts of the internet, social media, and other online platforms, contributed to his descent into radicalized ideologies and violent beliefs,” said their statement, released through their attorney Colin Rudolph.
His family said they tried to get him help
They encouraged him to seek help and he spent time in rehabilitation centers, the statement said. Vazquez’s parents did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment from The Associated Press. An attorney who represented Vazquez’s parents when their guns were confiscated also didn’t immediately respond to calls.
In writings by Vazquez and Clark that expressed white supremacist views, Vazquez wrote of having “some mental health issues” and being rejected by women. They suggest both teenagers idolized previous shooters who have died while carrying out mass shootings. The writings expressed hatred toward Jewish people, Muslims, Black people and a range of other groups.
Vazquez left the San Diego Unified School District in June 2018 after attending Washington Elementary up until the 5th grade, district spokesperson James Canning told The Associated Press. It’s unclear where he went to school after that.
Clark was enrolled in a virtual high school in the district, Canning said.
Police began searching for the teens on Monday after Clark’s mother called to say her son was suicidal and ran away. She told them he was dressed in camouflage, had taken multiple weapons from the home, and was with an acquaintance, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said earlier this week.
Officers were still interviewing the mother about places the teens might be when the shooting began at the county’s largest mosque.
De-radicalizing people is becoming more difficult
Vazquez’s father said in a 2025 court statement that his family made a concerted effort to steer Caleb Vazquez back onto the right track. He said when they surrendered their weapons, they were in communication with his school, were monitoring his social media presence closely and he was in therapy twice a week.
“We observe all of his online activities, who he talks to, what he talks about, and who he is friends with,” Marco Vazquez wrote, emphasizing that he didn’t support his son’s ideology.
Some experts say it’s increasingly difficult to help people drawn to the kind of radicalism Vazquez and Clark expressed.
Samira Benz works for the Violence Prevention Network, which conducts interventions when people are radicalized into believing in violent extremism. Benz said the work has become increasingly complicated as the internet blurs ideologies and creates niche, meme-based languages that can be fleeting and hard to decipher.
“Even if a parent is looking at the phone of their child, they don’t necessarily see something bad is going on,” Benz said.
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Associated Press writers Julie Watson and Javier Arciga in San Diego contributed.
