Content warning: This article contains instances of hate speech.
A deadly shooting at the largest Islamic center in San Diego is being investigated as a possible hate crime after two teenage gunmen opened fire at the mosque and later died by suicide on Monday. The attack killed three people and sparked outrage among residents.
Officials identified the suspects as Clain Clerk, a 17-year-old, and Caleb Vazquez, an 18-year-old. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said investigators are still working to determine the motive behind the shooting and expect more details to emerge in the coming days.
According to CNN, authorities said the teenagers shared a graphic livestream of the shooting, paired by a lengthy 75-page document filled with racist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, and neo-Nazi beliefs.
The gunmen’s written document was acquired by researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and provided to CNN. The livestream reviewed by CNN showed the teenagers firing inside the Islamic center while displaying Nazi and white supremacist symbols on their weapons and clothing.
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Meanwhile, another portion of the disturbing video showed one attacker shooting the other inside a vehicle that had been reported missing before taking his own life.
A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said the footage appeared authentic and that investigators were reviewing details in the document. The weapons shown in the video were covered with handwritten white lettering, numerical codes, Nazi references, and messages linked to previous mass shootings.
ISD researchers said the manifesto appeared authentic because details in the document matched the footage and referenced social media usernames linked to extremist content posted before the attack.
A separate clip reportedly showed Clain Clerk and Caleb Vazquez entering the center through the front door armed with rifles and at least one handgun. The graphic footage captured the suspects firing shots inside and outside the building while moving through the location.
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CNN said visual details from the footage, including the mosque’s entrance and interior layout, matched the Islamic center. The latter part of the video appeared to show an apparent victim lying injured before the footage ended with the attackers entering a vehicle and driving away.
The manifesto included separate statements from each suspect expressing white supremacist beliefs and support for the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, which falsely claims white populations are being deliberately replaced.
They also praised previous mass shooters and referenced those attacks positively. The document also referenced the gunman behind the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, which killed 51 people. The document also revealed how the teenagers allegedly used satellite imagery and Google Street View to study targeted locations before visiting them in person.
Authorities and extremism researchers said some imagery and messaging displayed by the suspects resembled symbols used by other mass shooters associated with what researchers describe as “nihilistic violent extremist” ideologies. Statements attributed to Clerk in the manifesto reportedly focused on hatred toward nonwhite and non-Christian communities.
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The document stated that he did not expect to survive the attack and expressed no remorse. The document also allegedly included statements from Vazquez praising Adolf Hitler and referencing “incel” culture. Earlier, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo from October repeatedly warned about the individuals involved in the growing threats from these violent extremists who seek online attention by livestreaming attacks.
According to Al Jazeera, Taha Hassane, an imam at the Islamic Center, condemned the attack and said, “It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship,” he said. “People come to the Islamic Center to pray, to celebrate, to learn – not only Muslims, but we have people from all walks of life.”
