One of the two white supremacist shooters who attacked a mosque in California on Monday, killing three people, had already been flagged by law enforcement, according to US media reports.
Background on the Shooter
Local officials were so alarmed by Caleb Vazquez's idolization of mass shooters and Nazism that they seized his father's guns a year before the shooting, the New York Times reported. Bloomberg added that Vazquez had been flagged by the FBI as a potential threat last year.
Vazquez, 18, and his friend Cain Clark, 17, attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing three men, including a security guard who exchanged gunfire with them and prevented them from reaching 140 schoolchildren. The two shooters died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in their getaway car.
Online Radicalization
The Associated Press reported that the shooters were radicalized online, where they first met, and shared white supremacist and pro-Nazi views. They expressed hatred toward Muslims, Jewish people, the LGBTQ+ community, Black people, and women.
Online materials purportedly written by Vazquez, reviewed by the Guardian, showed he had a far-right accelerationist ideology promoting extreme violence. NPR noted similarities with the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand that killed 51 people.
Previous Law Enforcement Actions
Vazquez was already on law enforcement's radar after someone flagged troubling social media posts. In a protective order last year, a police officer wrote that Vazquez was involved in suspicious behavior idolizing Nazis and mass shooters, prompting officials to seize his father's guns. Vazquez had also been placed in an involuntary psychiatric hold, the Times reported.
Vazquez's father and his wife had 26 guns, including pistols, rifles, and shotguns in their home. The father wrote in an affidavit that he voluntarily put the weapons in a storage facility due to concerns about his son. The court ordered him to turn over his guns to officials.
Officials found at least 30 guns, ammunition, and a crossbow at two separate residences after Monday's attack. It is unclear if the weapons used in the shooting came from the Vazquez home, as Clark also grew up with guns.
Family Apology
After the shooting, the Vazquez family apologized for their son's actions in a statement provided by an attorney, blaming his autism diagnosis and online radicalization. The family said they stand firmly against the ideology and actions that led to this tragedy and apologized to the families of the victims.
The Attack
On Monday, both shooters arrived at the Islamic Center of San Diego and tried to barge inside. A security guard opened fire, forcing them back outside. As the three exchanged gunfire, the guard called for a lockdown.
The shooters entered the lobby and fatally shot the guard but were unable to reach anyone in the mosque's rooms because they were emptied during the lockdown. The shooters then exited into the parking lot and fatally shot two other men who worked with the mosque. These men had drawn the attackers away from the building, officials said.
The mosque's imam said the community had received hate mail and messages in the past.
