San Diego Islamic Center shooting suspect apparently posted video of attack: Sources

Authorities are reviewing a video that appears to have been posted online by one of the suspects on Monday. fatal shot It appears to capture live coverage of the attack and its aftermath at the Islamic Center of San Diego, sources told ABC News.

Investigators are also examining the extent to which the attack may be linked to violent nihilistic extremism, the sources said.

While authorities stated that three people, one of whom was a security guard, were killed in the shooting on Monday, investigators said that they are currently evaluating the incident as a hate crime.

Police said two suspects, ages 17 and 18, were found dead in a nearby vehicle. Authorities are investigating two teenagers, Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez, as the suspected attackers in the incident, several sources told ABC News.

Sources said video posted to an online brutality site showed the suspects approaching the center and then opening fire, with one person believed to be Clark wearing a camouflage suit and a license plate carrier.

Later in the video, the man believed to be Clark reaches into the backseat of the vehicle and shoots Vazquez, then fires a second bullet and commits suicide, sources said.

According to sources, a Sonnenrad patch depicting a neo-Nazi symbol and what analysts assess is likely a patch for a militant pro-acceleration group are both seen on the plate carrier worn by the person believed to be Clark. Sources also said writings, including drawings of SS bolts and neo-Nazi insignia, could be seen on the weapon.

According to sources, other symbols associated with neo-Nazism and militant accelerationism were also found at the scene of the attack, including a flag with Sonnenrad written on it and a gas canister with SS bolts painted on it.

Sources also told ABC News that social media accounts believed to be tied to Clark reflect possible connections to nihilistic, violent extremist ideology.

The suspects met online and discovered they both lived in San Diego, according to Mark Remily, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. They had become radicalized online and had a “broad hatred” towards a wide range of races and religions, Remily said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“They didn’t discriminate in who they hated,” Remily said.

Remily said researchers found writings that outlined “religious and racial beliefs about what the world they envisioned should look like.” Authorities are in the process of analyzing the writings to learn what led to the attack and how future attacks can be prevented and to investigate “how the radicalization occurred,” officials said.

Officials said it was too early in the investigation to say whether the mosque was the specific target.

“We’re still digging into the electronics to provide the answers, but I can still say they definitely had a broad hatred for a lot of people,” Remily said.

When asked if the Islamic center’s schools were the intended target, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said law enforcement was still working to determine the scope of the “threat picture.”

Police are investigating how the suspects obtained firearms in the shooting, Wahl said Tuesday. It was stated that the weapons belonged to the family of one of the suspects.

Remily said that during the search of two residences linked to the suspects, authorities seized “a large number of pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, tactical equipment, as well as electronic items.”

“So far in this investigation we have seized more than 30 guns and a crossbow,” he said.

3 adults killed in San Diego Islamic Center shooting; Both suspects dead: Police

Police said the attack was reported shortly before noon on Monday.

Video review shows the suspects engaged in a “gunfight” with the slain security guard outside the mosque, according to Wahl.

He said security guards managed to issue a “lockdown protocol” that allowed those in the main common areas of the mosque to hide as gunshots sounded. He said there were about 140 children inside at the time.

The police chief said that once inside, the suspects went from room to room but did not encounter anyone. At one point, he said, they were seen looking out a window, one of them pointing at the window, before running out a nearby door, at which point they “immediately engaged” with the other two victims outside the parking lot.

Killed security guard Amin Abdullah was hailed as a hero.

“His actions undoubtedly delayed, distracted, and ultimately deterred these two individuals from gaining access to larger areas of the mosque, where as many as 140 children were within 15 feet of these suspects,” Wahl said Tuesday. he said.

The other two victims killed in the shooting, identified by authorities as Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad, drew the suspects’ “attention” to a parking lot from which they unfortunately were unable to escape, Wahl said. Wahl said they were cornered by the suspects and killed.

Police are investigating a possible motive but said the attack is currently being treated as a hate crime.

“There was definitely hate speech,” Wahl said at Monday’s press conference.

Sources speaking to ABC News said that anti-Islamic writings were found in the vehicle in which the two young people were traveling.

About two hours before the mosque shooting, San Diego police received a call about a runaway juvenile involving the 17-year-old suspect, according to Wahl. The teenager’s mother reported that “several of his guns” and his vehicle were missing. The mother also found a note from the police chief whose contents she did not share, Wahl said.

Wahl said the mother told police her son was with someone else and that they were both “dressed in camouflage.”

The official said police tried to follow the vehicle and, upon receiving a report of shots fired at the mosque, directed police to a shopping mall and school with which one of the youths was affiliated.

The Islamic Center of San Diego says it is the largest mosque in San Diego County.

“We have never experienced a tragedy like this before,” Taha Hassan, Imam and Director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, said about the center at a press conference.

Hassan said he “stands in solidarity and sends prayers to all the families here in our community, as well as other mosques and all places of worship in our beautiful city.”

Hassan said, “Targeting a place of worship is extremely ugly. Our Islamic center is a place of worship. People come to the Islamic center to pray, celebrate and learn. We have not only Muslims, but also people from all segments of society.”

“Unfortunately, the religious intolerance and hatred that exists in our nation is unprecedented,” Hassan said.

“We strongly condemn this horrific act of violence,” Tazheen Nizam, executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. he said. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this attack. No one should worry about their safety while going to prayer or studying at primary school.”

Security guard at San Diego Islamic Center hailed as hero

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria told ABC News: “We immediately increased patrols around religious sites in the city, both our Muslim, Jewish and other faith communities. And I think we’ll maintain that stance for some time.”

“[I] I believe that once the investigation is complete, this security guard will tremendously save many lives, including many children; An absolute hero who unfortunately lost his life, but we are all grateful for it,” Gloria said.

“Hate has no home in San Diego. Islamophobia has no home in San Diego,” the mayor said at a news conference.

ABC News’ Meg Christie, Luke Barr and Alex Stone contributed to this report.