Two teenagers livestreamed themselves shooting three people dead at a mosque in San Diego on Monday before killing one another in a parked car, police have confirmed.
The attackers, Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Velasquez, 18, are believed to have entered the Islamic Center of San Diego armed with a shotgun and other weapons while recording the assault on a bodycam. The footage, which authorities have reviewed, shows the pair standing over a body lying in a pool of blood before fleeing the scene and climbing into a BMW. Once inside the vehicle, Clark, who was in the driver’s seat, shot Velasquez twice and then turned the gun on himself. Both teenagers died at the scene a few blocks from the mosque.
The attack and the livestream
The shooting began around 11:30 a.m. local time on Monday. Police received emergency calls reporting gunfire at the Islamic Centre, which also houses a school for Arabic language and Quranic studies. Within four minutes officers arrived and deployed an active-shooter response, sweeping through the mosque and the adjacent school. All teachers and children inside the building were safe, a spokesman for the centre said. Aerial footage later showed more than a dozen children being led out of the parking lot by hand as dozens of police vehicles surrounded the area.
During the attack the gunmen encountered security guard Amin Abdullah, who confronted them and alerted the school to go into lockdown. Abdullah exchanged fire with the suspects and was fatally wounded. Two other men, Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad, also confronted the shooters in the parking lot. Kaziha is reported to have called 911 before both men were killed. Their actions are credited with delaying and distracting the gunmen, preventing them from reaching the roughly 140 children inside the school.
Perpetrators: radicalisation, hate speech and a mother’s warning
Authorities are investigating the shooting as a hate crime after uncovering extensive evidence of anti-Islamic rhetoric. A suicide note left at one of the killers’ homes contained references to “racial pride”. Hate speech and anti-Islamic writings were found scrawled on the side of the weapons used in the attack, as well as inside the BMW. An “SS” sticker – symbolising the Nazi paramilitary Schutzstaffel – was discovered on a gas can near where the bodies of the gunmen were found.
Clark and Velasquez met online and were radicalised together, according to law enforcement sources, sharing what has been described as a “broad hatred” towards different religions and races. The suspects left behind a “hate-filled manifesto” detailing their religious and racial beliefs, although specific elements of the ideology have not been fully disclosed. Officials have characterised the rhetoric as “generalised hate”.
Approximately two hours before the attack, Clark’s mother contacted police to report that her son was suicidal, had taken firearms from the family home, and had left with an acquaintance dressed in camouflage. This prompted a search for the teenagers but the attack took place before police could locate them. More than 30 firearms – including pistols, rifles and shotguns – along with a crossbow, ammunition and tactical gear were later recovered from searches of two residences linked to the suspects. The weapons used in the shooting were reportedly registered to one of the suspects’ parents.
Clark, a high school senior at Madison High School and a wrestler, had been attending classes virtually since 2021. Velasquez, 18, had no known criminal record. Clark’s grandfather expressed shock, telling reporters: “We’re very sorry for what happened. We know as much as you do. It’s a shock.”
Victims: three men hailed as heroes
The three men killed have been named by the Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego (CAIR-SD) as Amin Abdullah, 51, Mansour Kaziha, 78, and Nader Awad, 57.
Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, had worked as a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego for more than a decade. Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who knew him, said: “He wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard.” A family friend told the Associated Press that Abdullah “gave his life” shielding others from gunfire. His actions have been described as heroic and, according to the centre, he is believed to have saved numerous lives, including those of the children attending the school. The Islamic Centre referred to him and the other two victims as “three heroes martyred”.
Mansour Kaziha, also known as “Abu Ezz”, was a pillar of the mosque community. He had been involved since its construction in the 1980s and managed the mosque store for nearly 40 years, serving as a handyman, cook, caretaker and storekeeper. He was married with children and grandchildren. Nader Awad, who lived across the street from the mosque, ran towards the building when he heard gunshots to help. His wife is a teacher at the Islamic school. He attended prayers at the centre daily and was killed alongside Kaziha in the parking lot.
Community and official response
The Islamic Center of San Diego, described as the largest mosque in San Diego County, has started a fundraiser for the families of the victims. A spokesman said a school class was in session at the time of the attack but that all staff and children were safe. The white mosque sits in a neighbourhood of homes, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets.
President Donald Trump described the shooting as a “terrible situation” and said he had received early updates and would “go back and look at it very strongly”. California Governor Gavin Newsom expressed horror and said “hate has no place in California”, adding that the state stands with the San Diego Muslim community. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria likewise said “hate has no place” in the city and assured the Muslim community that all resources would be used to ensure their safety. The FBI is assisting in the investigation, focusing on online radicalisation and the suspects’ digital footprint. Authorities have stated there was no specific threat made against the Islamic Center itself.
A landscaper working nearby was shot at by individuals in a fleeing vehicle but was not seriously injured.
