The two teenagers who carried out the May 18 attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego — killing three men before fatally shooting themselves — met in online spaces where they cultivated shared white supremacist views and expressed broad hatred across multiple groups, according to FBI agent Mark Remily and writings the pair authored. The lead FBI agent in San Diego told reporters Tuesday that the attackers “didn’t discriminate on who they hated,” and investigators recovered an arsenal of at least 30 guns from two residences linked to the shooters, along with ammunition and a crossbow. The FBI is working to determine whether the teenagers had broader targets in mind beyond the mosque.
MSI previously reported that the shooters, identified as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, died by suicide at the scene after the attack. Police said the attack unfolded during evening prayers, and the three victims — whose names have not been publicly released — were fatally shot before the attackers turned their weapons on themselves.
The writings, which the Associated Press obtained, contain what investigators described as hateful rhetoric targeting Jewish people, Muslims, Islam, the LGBTQ+ community, Black people, and women, as well as both the political left and right. Both teenagers expressed beliefs that white people are being eliminated, according to authorities, and one of the pair wrote about mental health struggles and being rejected by women.
Remily said investigators were examining whether the teenagers had broader plans beyond the mosque attack, given the number of weapons recovered. The shooters used multiple firearms during the attack, police said, though authorities have not specified which weapons were used in the killings.