Teen attackers in mosque shooting were wallowing in nihilistic hate
FBI says Islamic Center attackers were radicalized online and “did not discriminate in who they hated” 07:35
The two teenagers who carried out a deadly attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday blamed Jews for the world’s ills and spewed a nihilistic mix of anti-Muslim, misogynistic, anti-Hispanic, anti-gay and anti-trans hate speech, according to what the FBI called a “manifesto” obtained by CBS News.
“These subjects were not discriminating in who they hated,” Mark Remily, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office, said at a news conference Tuesday.
The document, reviewed by CBS News, opens with an anti-Semitic diatribe and repeats the phrase “THESE JEWS.” It also calls for a violent race war and refers to “accelerationism,” one of the most violent forms of white supremacist ideology that advocates the destruction of society.
The duo livestreamed their attack, which was reminiscent of the infamous 2019 shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 51 people dead.
The video shows these men wearing equipment bearing Nazi symbols that resemble the “SS” insignia worn by Hitler’s paramilitary ranks, and one of the weapons used in the attack, a gun, has the words “Race War” engraved on it.
An image from So-called
Oren Segal, senior vice president of Counter-Extremism and Intelligence at the Anti-Defamation League, said the attackers wrote that they wanted to continue the legacy of the Christchurch shooter. “They called themselves ‘sons’ of the attacker, almost self-identified,” Segal said.
The document devotes sections to anti-Black, anti-Muslim, anti-Hispanic, anti-trans and misogynist rhetoric. It is divided into two sections, one for each teenager. Both identify with the misogynistic incel movement, which has been linked to previous mass shootings. “Incel” is an abbreviation for “involuntary celibacy.”
There’s a Q&A at one point, which includes: “Were you right wing: Depends on definition. Were you left wing: Depends on definition.”
The teens are part of a growing trend of attacks motivated by what the FBI calls “nihilistic violent extremism,” a broad ideology that combines many forms of hatred.
The so-called “manifesto” is 75 pages long and appears to be a compilation of writings that have been floating around in the dark corners of the internet for years and were put together, presumably with the help of artificial intelligence. CBS News has not independently confirmed who created the document.
Authorities said they believed the two teens met online and discovered they both resided in the San Diego area before meeting in person.
A suicide note left by one of the gunmen, 17-year-old Cain Clark, showed he was ready to die for his heinous cause, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.
Clark was a member of the wrestling team at a local high school. The other attacker, Caleb Vazquez, was 18 years old.
Investigators are investigating evidence that suggests young people were influenced by several mass shooters, including the Christchurch shooter.
The teenagers recorded their attack on Monday and the horrific 10-minute video was shared widely on a website where people post videos depicting extreme violence. CBS News previously reported about past mass shooters who have spent time on the platform.
The video investigators found was posted on a website that is on the FBI’s radar amid a disturbing trend of teens engaging with the so-called “True Crime Community,” or TCC. glorifying online movement encourages mass shooters and encourages violence and self-harm.
After carrying out the attack that killed three people a security guard The man who was praised for saving countless people – video shows Clark, wearing camouflage, fatally shooting Vazquez before taking his own life.
Authorities said the teens stockpiled 30 guns and a crossbow taken from Clark’s family.
early warning
The first alert came around 9:40 a.m. when Clark’s mother called 911. Clark said she became concerned that her son was suicidal after discovering that multiple guns and his vehicle had been seized. He said his son was wearing camouflage.
The information triggered a threat alert to local law enforcement, but there was no specific target known, according to San Diego police.
Two hours later, two young people opened fire on the mosque. They killed a security guard at the front, then entered the facility where the school where more than 100 children were educated. The attackers began going door to door, but security guard Amin Abdullah had already triggered a lockdown alarm and the students were in another area of the building.
Investigators later said the teens saw the two men in the parking lot through one of the windows. They came out of the mosque to target and kill them, then jumped into their vehicle and fled by shooting out the car window.
A few blocks away, Clark shot Vazquez and then himself.
