Harrowing police audio has shed light on the chaotic response to the San Diego mosque shooting, which left three people dead. Officers from the city's police department rushed to the Islamic Center of San Diego after shots were fired on Monday.
The radio chatter reveals officers searching for two teenage gunmen while simultaneously pulling victims away from the scene to administer life-saving measures. 'We got two more people down on the north side of the mosque here,' one officer reported. Another officer responded that there were 'two assailants, one with an automatic weapon, one with a shotgun.' Officers then coordinated their positions and planned their next moves over the airwaves.
The hunt for the suspects intensified as officers tried to pinpoint their location. 'Two white males, they are wearing all camo,' one officer said upon locating the shooters. Another officer called out, 'We're going to grab these two victims,' adding that they needed 'life saving measures.' The suspects were later found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds after the rampage outside the house of worship.
The gunmen were identified by police sources as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, according to NBC News. Officials told CNN that hate speech was inscribed on one of the weapons used in the attack. Authorities said at a Monday night news conference that police first received a call about a 'runaway juvenile.' The mother of one of the teens reported that her son was suicidal and that several of her weapons were missing. She had also found a note left by her son. 'That began to trigger a larger threat assessment picture,' Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
Police described both teens as wearing 'camo fatigue' and using a 2018 BMW X1 SUV. One officer noted that guns 'stolen from the house' included 'a 9mm handgun, a shotgun and a mini 14.' Police used license plate readers to track the teens, dispatched authorities to a mall, and alerted Madison High School, where at least one suspect was a student. While officers were still interviewing the mother about possible locations, reports of the mosque shooting came in. As police arrived, gunshots rang out a few blocks away, where a landscaper was shot at but uninjured.
There was no specific threat made against the mosque, but authorities found evidence of 'hate rhetoric,' Wahl said. Panicked parents arrived at the scene to retrieve their children. One of the victims was security guard Amin Abdullah, a father of eight. His friend Anees Faraj, a fellow security guard not working that day, described the events as shocking. Police Chief Wahl said Abdullah's actions were heroic and helped prevent an even deadlier attack. The imam confirmed no children were injured; the mosque also houses the Al Rashid school for kindergarten through third grade students.
