Desperate attempt by mom of San Diego mosque shooter to alert police to threat before son opened fire as one of two teenage killers is pictured

Hours before opening fire at a mosque, a California mother desperately tried to warn police that her teenage son and his friend could pose a threat and kill three people before taking their own lives.

young shooters, Spotted by NBC News 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez started shooting outside the San Diego Islamic Center around 11:40 a.m. on Monday.

But police were already searching for the two teenagers after one of their mothers called officers to report that her son had fled with “several guns” and his vehicle, Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference.

‘After talking to my mother [she] “He started piecing together bits of information over a long period of time,” he said.

‘The information it collected and transmitted to us began to raise the threat level…’

Wahl said the call came around 9:42 a.m., when the unidentified mother began voicing concerns about her son, who she said was suicidal.

His mother told police the teen left with a friend and they were both wearing camouflage. Wahl said this was “not consistent with what we would typically see in a suicidal person.”

Police stated on their radios shortly after the incident that the car they were driving was a 2018 BMW X1 SUV.

A police officer said on the radio that ‘weapons stolen from the house’ included a ‘9 mm pistol, a shotgun and a mini 14.

Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego (pictured) around 11:40 a.m. Monday.

Police officers arrived on the scene in just four minutes as they began searching for the teenagers.

Officers then used every resource at their disposal to locate the teens in the stolen cars, including an automatic license plate reader that placed them in the Clairemont area.

As a precaution, Wahl said he assigned officers to a local shopping mall and Madison High School, where Clark attended classes virtually. According to NBC San Diego.

District officials stated that Clark is ready to graduate this month and that he attended the district’s virtual online school ‘iHigh Virtual Academy’ but joined Madison’s wrestling team for the 2024-2025 season.

“While we were gathering this information and trying to determine the whereabouts of these individuals, we received a call around 11:43 a.m. that there was an active shooter at the Islamic Center,” Wahl said.

Officers arrived on scene within four minutes and found three people shot to death outside the building; among them was security guard Amin Abdullah, who was hailed as a hero after taking action to protect others.

Neighbor Vanessa Chavez he told the New York Times He watched in horror as the security guard was shot at least twice as the children playing outside entered the building.

About 100 police officers then scoured the mosque for any signs of the shooters and broke down the doors as they evacuated the on-campus Al Rashid school, which serves students from kindergarten through third grade.

However, the young people had already fled the scene. While escaping, shots were opened at a landscape architect working on a house.

Adrian Collen, one of the witnesses, said that he saw the landscape architect working in his next-door neighbour’s house lying on the ground and when he stood up he noticed that his ‘head was bloody’.

collen too he told CNN He saw a white car with a broken driver’s side window and windows flying out from the impact of what he thought was ‘just a kid’.

It is thought that the unidentified landscape architect was wearing a helmet during the attack, and the helmet ricocheted off the bullet and saved his life.

The gunmen were later found dead in a vehicle with self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

While authorities are currently investigating the attack as a hate crime, they are also investigating anti-Islamic writings found in the vehicle.

A law enforcement source told the NY Post that the weapons used in the attack had “hate speech” written on them, and that a shotgun and a gas canister with an “SS” label were found at the scene where the suspect’s bodies were found.

Emin Abdullah, father of 8 children, was among those killed in the attack.

Authorities are currently investigating the attack as a hate crime. A police officer is seen at the home of one of the shooting suspects on Monday evening

About 100 police officers later combed the mosque for any signs of the attackers, but they had already fled the scene.

The shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego took place at the beginning of Dhu al-Hijjah, one of the holiest months of the Muslim calendar.

Meaning ‘month of Hajj’, this month marks a time when millions of Muslims around the world undertake the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The Islamic Center of San Diego is the largest mosque in San Diego County, with approximately 5,000 members.

“Targeting a place of worship is extremely ugly,” said Imam Taha Hassane. ‘People come to the Islamic Center to pray, celebrate and learn; ‘We have not only Muslims, but also people from all segments of society.’

He stated that luckily no children were injured in the clashes.

‘The whole school is safe. “All children, all staff and teachers are safe outside the Islamic Centre,” the imam said in a video update posted on Facebook shortly after the attack.

‘We have a few injuries, it’s not confirmed yet. There is no threat at this time, but we ask everyone to stay away from the Islamic Center of San Diego.’

After police set up a reunion area at the San Diego Clairemont Seventh-day Adventist Church, panicked parents were seen rushing to the scene to pick up their children.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said he and his wife were ‘horrified by today’s violent attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, where families and children gather and neighbors worship in peace and fellowship.’

‘Today, this community area was shattered by gunfire,’ he said in a statement.

“California extends our deepest condolences to the families and communities impacted by today’s shooting,” the governor continued.

‘Worshippers anywhere need not fear for their lives. Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terrorism or intimidation against faith communities.

‘Thank you to the brave law enforcement and first responders who took swift action to protect children and worshipers.

‘To the Muslim community of San Diego: California stands with you.’

President Donald Trump also described the attack as a “terrible situation.”

He said he had been briefed on the incident but promised: ‘We will look back on it very strongly.’

A father was reunited with his daughter after the armed attack at the mosque where Al Rashid school is located

Two women were seen embracing as they left the reunification center after the conflict.

Parents reunited with their children at nearby San Diego Clairemont Seventh-day Adventist Church

Council on American-Islamic Relations demands politicians end ‘hate campaigns’ after deadly shooting

Neighbors flocked to the mosque after the shooting

Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded that politicians end their ‘hate campaign’ following the deadly shooting.

According to its most recent report, the council received 8,683 civil rights complaints in 2025; This is the highest figure recorded by the group since 1996.

‘Hate against American Muslims is completely out of control,’ the advocacy group said.

‘Too many politicians have spent the past year claiming that all ‘mainstream Muslims’ should be exterminated, American mosques and elementary schools should be closed, and American Muslims should be deported from our country.

‘Last week, House Republicans held a congressional hearing to fan the flames of hatred against American Muslims, their houses of worship, and even Muslim schoolchildren.

‘We have seen time and time again that such hate speech can lead to hate crimes. The mass shooters who murdered families at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and worshipers at a mosque in Quebec all adopted the rhetoric of prominent anti-Muslim extremists.

“The deadly attack on an American mosque was as predictable as it was unacceptable,” the group concluded.

‘Anti-Muslim hatred is one of the last acceptable forms of bigotry in American society, and tolerance of this hatred is long overdue.’