Two teenagers who killed three men and themselves at the Islamic Center of San Diego this week were heavily influenced by the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, according to researchers. The attackers, Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, left a 74-page document—the same length as the Christchurch shooter’s manifesto—citing far-right ideologies and praising the attack that killed 51 people in New Zealand.
The pair stormed the mosque on Monday but were driven back by a security guard, Amin Abdullah, who exchanged gunfire and initiated a lockdown protecting 140 children. Abdullah and two other men were killed before the suspects took their own lives in a vehicle nearby. Their writings included hatred toward Jewish people, Muslims, LGBTQ+ individuals, Black people, women, and both political left and right, and expressed a desire to accelerate societal collapse.
Experts noted that the Christchurch attack has become a model for far-right assailants due to its high death toll, the killer’s manifesto, and the livestream of the massacre. Katherine Keneally of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue said there is an “obsession” with emulating high-kill attacks, describing it as “gamifying of attacks.” Brian Levin of California State University, San Bernardino, highlighted that the internet has made it easier to spread such writings, creating a “continuing chain of extremism.”
The shooting is part of a rise in attacks on houses of worship, with threats and hate crimes against Muslim and Jewish communities increasing since the Middle East conflict began. Keneally expressed concern about media coverage potentially amplifying the killers’ message, but stressed the need to understand how teenagers become radicalized online. “How did these kids end up going down this route?” she asked, noting that healthy teens should be focused on school and young adulthood, not extremist ideologies.
