{"id":211123,"date":"2026-05-19T15:47:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/what-we-know-about-the-san-diego-shooting-victims-suspects-possible-motive-and-more-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:47:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:47:53","slug":"what-we-know-about-the-san-diego-shooting-victims-suspects-possible-motive-and-more-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/what-we-know-about-the-san-diego-shooting-victims-suspects-possible-motive-and-more-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"What we know about the San Diego shooting victims, suspects, possible motive and more – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

STEVE KORNACKI Q&A: NBC News’ chief data analyst to answer questions from subscribers. Submit yours here.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Two teenage gunmen are believed to have killed three people at a San Diego mosque Monday, authorities said.
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Investigators are working to determine a motive of the attackers, who are believed to have later died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, but San Diego\u2019s police chief said the violence was being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Police Chief Scott Wahl said the event was \u201cevery community\u2019s worst nightmare.\u201d
Here\u2019s what we know about the shootings.
Authorities responded to a report of an active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego, described on its website as the largest mosque in San Diego County, at 11:43 a.m., Wahl said.
The mosque is in San Diego\u2019s Clairemont neighborhood, roughly 8 miles north of downtown.
Officers arrived four minutes later and found three men dead in front of the mosque, Wahl said.
One of the men was a security guard who, Wahl said, was \u201cpivotal\u201d in preventing more bloodshed.
\u201cAt this point, I think it\u2019s fair to say his actions were heroic,\u201d Wahl said. \u201cUndoubtedly, he saved lives today.\u201d
The victims were not identified Monday.
An imam from the Islamic Center said all teachers, students and other school staff members who were at the mosque were safe.
As the officers deployed what Wahl described as an active shooter response at the mosque and an adjacent school, more gunfire was reported blocks away, he said.
A landscaper who was working in the area was shot at but not struck, Wahl said.
Less than a quarter-mile from the landscaper, police found a vehicle in the middle of the street with the two teenagers believed to be the shooters inside, Wahl said.
Both are believed to have died by self-inflicted gunshot wounds, he said.
Two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation and a federal law enforcement official identified the suspects as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18.
Clark attended high school virtually and was set to graduate later this month, according to a school district official.
The mother of one of the suspects called police Monday morning and said her son, her firearms and her car were missing, Wahl said.
She described the teen as suicidal and said he was most likely with a friend, Wahl said. Both were \u201cdressed in camo,\u201d he recalled her saying.
Officers were talking with the woman and trying to piece together where her son might be when they learned what was happening at the Islamic center, Wahl said.
Initially, police followed leads to a nearby mall, then connected one of the suspects to Madison High School. San Diego officials then alerted school police before receiving the call about the mosque.
\u201cWe noted that there were hits with the vehicle down in Fashion Valley. We dispatched officers into the area of the mall as a possible location that was a threat,\u201d Wahl said. \u201cWe also gathered information that one of the individuals was associated in some form or fashion with Madison High School.\u201d
They then \u201cimmediately dispatched themselves to the mosque,\u201d he said.
The mother told police that her son left a note, Wahl said. He declined to provide additional details.
Wahl said \u201chate rhetoric\u201d was involved in the shooting, which he said is being investigated as a hate crime. Investigators are examining possible anti-Islamic writings found in the teens\u2019 car, two senior law enforcement officials said.
An imam with the mosque, Taha Hassane, said the center had never before experienced a tragedy like Monday\u2019s shooting, and he said it is \u201coutrageous\u201d that someone would target a place of worship.
\u201cPeople come to the Islamic center to pray, to celebrate, to learn,\u201d he told reporters.
Monday was the first day of Dhul Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar and one of its most sacred periods.
In a news release, the mosque said it will remain closed until further notice.
The Monday shooting has rattled the Muslim community both in Southern California and across the United States, prompting some officials to call for an end to what they call a \u201ccampaign of hate\u201d from mainstream politicians.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria called the shooting a \u201cviolent act of hate\u201d and called on the city to unite against Islamophobia.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was horrified by \u201can apparent act of anti-Muslim violence.\u201d
The California chapter of the Council on American\u2013Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group, said in a statement that the shooting was directly linked to comments made by lawmakers with national standing.
\u201cWe are deeply disturbed, but not at all surprised, to learn that those who attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego were reportedly motivated by anti-Muslim hate,\u201d said Hussam Ayloush, the CEO of CAIR\u2019s California chapter.
\u201cNumerous politicians have spent the past year claiming that all \u2018mainstream Muslims\u2019 should be destroyed, that American mosques and elementary schools should be shut down, and that American Muslims should be expelled from our nation,\u201d he said.
Imam Taha Hassane, the mosque\u2019s director, said that the shooting was unprecedented but placed it within a recognizable pattern of intolerance.
\u201cThis is something that we have never expected to take place, but at the same time the religious intolerance and the hate, unfortunately, that exists in our nation is unprecedented,\u201d he said. \u201cAll of us, we are responsible for spreading the culture of tolerance, the culture of love.\u201d
Earlier this year, multiple Republican politicians posted anti-Muslim messages to their social media<\/a> accounts after the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran.
Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Rebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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