CHICAGO (WLS) — Over recent months, the ABC7 I-Team has delved into the unsettling world of online groups that spread chaos internationally. According to sources close to ABC News, the suspects in the now-closed San Diego Islamic Center shooting case might have ties to similar destructive extremist circles on the internet. A former expert from the Department of Homeland Security believes these connections should have sparked prompt intervention.
“In many of these situations, these individuals were already on the radar, indicating that their actions had drawn attention and were often reported,” explained John Cohen, who previously served as the Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism at the Department of Homeland Security.
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Cohen shared with the I-Team that when reports emerge about someone showing interest in mass violence, it is crucial for law enforcement to step in—not always with an arrest, but through various forms of intervention.
“Taking action doesn’t always mean making an arrest,” Cohen stated. “It could involve engaging with the individual’s family, collaborating with mental health experts, and working within the community to mitigate the threat and prevent a potential mass casualty event.”
Insiders reveal that last year, police in Chula Vista had a run-in with one of the suspects, Caleb Vazquez, who was a minor at the time. This contact followed a tip-off from someone close to him who feared his interest in extremist ideologies and mass violence.
Upon reviewing Vazquez’s social media, an officer allegedly discovered content promoting neo-Nazi rhetoric.
But sources say the concerns did not rise to the level of an arrest and it is unclear whether there was any follow-up.
“The law enforcement organization that receives that information needs to not just determine whether there is an arrestable offense that’s taken place, but they need to conduct a threat assessment,” said Cohen.
The I-Team recently traveled to US Secret Service headquarters in Washington, D.C., profiling the work of the National Threat Assessment Center whose research is designed to prevent targeted violence like the shooting in San Diego. NTAC trains law enforcement agencies, schools and communities across the country, including in the Chicago area, to identify troubling behaviors and intervene before it’s too late.
“These concerning behaviors that are exhibited by these attackers and plotters have been very consistent,” said Katie Lord, Supervisory Domestic Security Strategist, NTAC.
Troubling signs like those exhibited by the suspected shooters, interest in mass shootings, neo-Naziism and more should have triggered early intervention, said Cohen. “Law enforcement can no longer afford just to take action solely upon a determination that a crime has been committed in today’s threat environment.”
The I-Team reached out to the Chula Vista police department. We did not hear back but a spokesperson told ABC News Tuesday in part that the department “extends its deepest condolences to all those affected by this tragedy.”
Investigators say they’ve now seized more than 30 firearms from two homes connected to the teen attackers.
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