Family says suspect in San Diego mosque shooting was influenced by hateful content online

The family of one of the suspects in a deadly shooting at a San Diego mosque this week said his exposure to hateful and extremist content online “contributed to his descent into radicalized ideologies and violent beliefs.”

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The Vazquez family apologized for the actions Caleb Vazquez is accused of, for which they said there is no excuse, and spoke out against online spaces that “normalize hate” in the statement provided to NBC San Diego by the family’s attorney.

Vazquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17, killed three people Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego before killing themselves, authorities said. Officials believe they met online.

Attempts to reach Clark’s immediate family were unsuccessful.

Authorities investigating their motives were trying to authenticate a lengthy document posted online that they may have written, law enforcement officials said. The writings include anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ views, Nazi iconography, and references to accelerationism, a white supremacist ideology that promotes violence to accelerate the formation of a white “ethno-state.”

The family said Vazquez’s beliefs do not align with theirs and that she “strongly opposes the ideology and actions that led to this tragedy.”

In their two-page statement, they apologized to the families of the three people killed, whom they thanked for preventing further deaths, as well as to a landscaper who was shot.

“Our son was on the autism spectrum, and it is sadly clear to us now that he not only struggled to accept parts of his own identity, but also began to resent them,” the family said.

They also said he may have been radicalized online.

“We believe this, combined with exposure to hateful rhetoric, extremist content, and widespread propaganda across the internet, social media, and other online platforms, contributed to his descent into radicalized ideologies and violent beliefs,” the statement said. “While there is no excuse for his actions, we have recognized how dangerous online spaces that normalize hate are.”

Vazquez’s family said they took steps to help him overcome what they described as his “mental instability” and encouraged him to seek help, which they said he did voluntarily.

They condemned hateful and extremist beliefs and reached out to people who may share similar ideologies, encouraging them to seek help.

“To anyone struggling with violent thoughts, anger, radicalization or hatred towards others, please seek help before more innocent lives are destroyed,” the statement said.

The three people killed in the shooting were Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad. No one in the building, where there were as many as 140 children, was injured.

Authorities said Abdullah, a mosque security guard, exchanged gunfire with the shooters. After being shot, Abdullah used his radio to implement a lockdown protocol, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said. The gunmen eventually saw Kaziha and Awad in the parking lot outside and shot them, Wahl said.

The family said while they are grieving as parents, they are heartbroken for the victims’ families and the affected community.

“We can only pray that his actions and words do not inspire or incite further hatred or violence against any community,” the statement said. “These are the actions of an immensely lost, troubled and misguided soul, and we hope that no other family or community will ever have to endure this kind of tragedy again.”