Insiders have revealed that one of the hate-filled high schoolers who massacred Muslims at a San Diego mosque left behind a suicide note writing about “racial pride.”
Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, died via suicide after they fatally shot three people, including a father of eight who was working as a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego during school hours on Monday.
Now, law enforcement sources tell the Los Angeles Times and the New York Post that the younger assailant, who is white, wrote about “racial pride” in a note left behind—though insiders did not elaborate on what exactly he wrote. The Times reported the note was found during a search of his home.
One of the guns used in the triple slaying was stolen from a parent and contained hate speech, according to the Times. Anti-Islamic writings were also reportedly found in the vehicle.
A shotgun and a gas can with a Nazi “SS” sticker on the side were found near the gunmen’s bodies and captured by news photographers. The sticker is a symbol of the Schutzstaffel, a paramilitary group founded by Adolf Hitler that remains a symbol of white supremacists.
Also visible at the scene was a 2018 BMW X1 that belonged to Clark’s mother, reports say.
Clark competed as an athlete at James Madison High School—located just a mile northwest of the Islamic Center. He was a standout wrestler there, but a school district spokesman said he was not enrolled in classes on-campus, having switched to fully online learning after attending middle and elementary school in person. He was set to graduate this semester.
Little is known about Vazquez. Some reports, including the Post’s, spell his last name as Velasquez, citing law enforcement sources. Officials are yet to confirm the gunmen’s identities, but have said that initial leads after the shooting took them to a nearby mall and Clark’s one-time high school.
Shots first rang out around 11:43 a.m. Monday. Police say they arrived on the scene within four minutes, but the gunmen were already gone.
Police say Clark and Vazquez fatally shot three people. Among the dead was the security guard, Amin Abdullah, who they praised as a hero for preventing further deaths at the center, which was filled with young school children. The other two victims were also men. Police say a landscaper was also shot at but not injured.
Vanessa Chavez, who lives across the street from the mosque, told The New York Times that she saw Abdullah—who was wearing a tactical vest—get shot at least twice. She saw him fall, get back up, and go inside to protect the children and others.
“Now seeing that he lost his life, it was very brave of him,” Chavez said.
Clark’s grandparents expressed shock at his involvement in the triple slaying.
“We’re very sorry for what happened,” the 78-year-old David Clark told CNN. “We know as much as you do. It’s a shock.”
There were some last-minute warning signs that Clark was dangerous, reports suggest—but they came to light too late. Police say Clark’s mother called 911 and warned that he was suicidal, wearing camo, and possibly armed. That call came shortly before the shooting occurred, but she said nothing of a potential attack on Muslims.
“There was no specific threat, especially no specific threat to the Islamic Center,” said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. “It was just general hate kind of speech that I think covered a wide gamut... We are still actively investigating this as we speak, but it was more generalized.”
Wahl said officers were interviewing Clark’s mother when reports of “shots fired” came ringing in. An official motive has not been released, but the massacre is being probed as a hate crime.
