A California mother desperately tried to alert police that her teenage son and his friend may pose a threat hours before they opened fire at a mosque, killing three people before taking their own lives.
Shooting at Islamic Center of San Diego
The teenage shooters, identified by NBC News as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, started spraying bullets outside the Islamic Center of San Diego at around 11:40 a.m. on Monday. But police had already been on the lookout for the two teens after one of their mothers called officers to report that her son had run away with 'several of her weapons' and her vehicle, Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference.
'After speaking with the mom, [she] began to piece together bits and pieces of information over an extended period of time,' he noted. 'The information that she was gathering and conveying to us began to elevate the threat level...'
Wahl said the call came in at around 9:42 a.m., when the unidentified mother started to express her concerns about her son, who she said was suicidal. The teenager had left with a friend, the mother told the police, and they were both dressed in camouflage, which Wahl said 'is not consistent with what we would typically see with someone that is suicidal.'
Police referred to the car they used as a 2018 BMW X1 SUV on their radios shortly after the incident. One officer said on the radio that guns 'stolen from the house' included 'a 9mm handgun, a shotgun and a mini 14.'
Police Response and Search
Officers arrived on the scene in just four minutes, as they had already been searching for the teenagers. Armed deputies were pictured near the mosque following the shooting on Monday. Officers then began using whatever technology they had available to locate the teenagers in the stolen cars, including an automated license plate reader, which put them in the Clairemont area.
As a precaution, Wahl said he deployed officers to a local shopping mall and to Madison High School, where Clark attended classes virtually, according to NBC San Diego. He had attended the district's virtual online school 'iHigh Virtual Academy,' but did participate in Madison's wrestling team for the 2024-2025 season, district officials told the outlet, adding that Clark was set to graduate this month.
'While we were gathering this information and we were trying to zero in on where these individuals were at, we received a call at approximately 11:43 a.m. that there was an active shooter at the Islamic Center,' Wahl said.
Officers arrived on the scene within four minutes and found three people shot to death outside the building, including security guard Amin Abdullah, who was hailed as a hero after he sprang into action to protect others. Neighbor Vanessa Chavez told The New York Times she watched in horror as the security guard was struck by at least two gunshots while children playing outside were herded into the building.
As many as 100 officers then combed the mosque for any signs of the shooters, breaking down doors as they evacuated the Al Rashid school on campus, which serves students in kindergarten through third grade. But the teens had already fled the scene, shooting at a landscaper working on a home as they made their escape.
Witness Accounts and Aftermath
One witness, Adrian Collen, described how he saw the landscaper working at his next-door neighbor's house was on the ground and noticed that he was 'bloody on the head' as he stood up. Collen also told CNN he saw a white car with the driver's side window broken and glass flying off, driven by what he thought 'was just a kid.' It is now believed that the unidentified landscaper was wearing a helmet at the time of the attack, which likely saved his life as the bullet ricocheted against it.
The gunmen were later found dead inside a vehicle of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. As authorities now probe the shooting as a hate crime, they are looking into reported anti-Islamic writings that were found inside the vehicle.
The shooting at the San Diego Islamic Center came at the beginning of Dhu’l-Hijja, one of the holiest months on the Muslim calendar. It translates to 'month of the pilgrimage' and marks a time when millions of Muslims across the world embark on 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 around 5,000 members. 'It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship,' Imam Taha Hassane said. 'People come to the Islamic Center to pray, to celebrate, to learn - not only Muslims, but we have people from all walks of life.' Fortunately, he said, no children were injured during the shooting. 'The entire school is safe. All the kids, all the staff and the teachers are safe out of the Islamic Center,' the imam said in a Facebook video update shortly after the shooting. 'We have a few casualties, not confirmed yet. There is no threat at this moment, but we want everyone to stay away from the Islamic Center of San Diego.'
Panicked parents were later seen rushing to the scene to pick up their children after police set up a reunification site at San Diego Clairemont Seventh-Day Adventist Church. A father was reunited with his daughter following the shooting at the mosque, which also houses the Al Rashid school. Two women were seen embracing as they left a reunification center following the shooting.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he and his wife were left 'horrified by today's violent attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, where families and children gather, and neighbors worship in peace and fellowship. Today, this community space was shattered by gunfire,' he said in a statement. 'California sends our deepest condolences to the families and communities impacted by today's shooting. Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives. Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith. Thank you to the brave law enforcement officers and first responders who acted swiftly to protect the children and worshippers. To the San Diego Muslim community: California stands with you.'
President Donald Trump also called the shooting a 'terrible situation.' He said he has been briefed on the incident but vowed: 'We're going to be going back and looking at it very strongly.'
Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded politicians end their 'campaign of hate' following the deadly shooting. The council received 8,683 civil rights complaints in 2025, the most the group has recorded since 1996, according to its most recent report. 'Hate against American Muslims is completely out of control,' the advocacy group said. 'Numerous politicians have spent the past year claiming that all "mainstream Muslims" should be destroyed, that American mosques and elementary schools should be shut down, and that American Muslims should be expelled from our nation. Just last week, House Republicans held a congressional hearing to fan the flames of hate against American Muslims, their houses of worship and even Muslim school children. Time and time again, we have seen that hate speech like this can lead to hate crimes. The mass shooters who massacred families at the Christchurch mosques in New Zealand and worshipers at a mosque in Quebec all embraced the rhetoric of prominent anti-Muslim extremists. A deadly attack on an American mosque was as predictable as it is unacceptable. Anti-Muslim hatred is one of the last acceptable forms of bigotry in American society, and it is long past time for the tolerance of this hate to end.'
