Local police and federal agents are investigating a shooting that took place Monday at an Islamic center in San Diego, Californa, that left three victims and two teen suspects dead.
Police were called to the Islamic Center of San Diego, which includes a mosque and K-3 school, just before noon on Monday.
Officers said they found three adults dead, including a security guard. No children at the center were harmed in the shooting.
Police were almost simultaneously called to a scene a few blocks away on reports of gunfire, according to police.
There, they found the two teen suspects, both dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, alongside a weapon used in the attack and a gas canister carrying a Nazi symbol, prompting investigators to treat the incident as a potential hate crime.
Here’s what we know about the suspects so far.
A pair of teen gunmen
Police described the two suspects as males age 17 and 18.
Offiicials have not yet formally named the duo but law enforcement sources have told media outlets that the younger of the two was Cain Clark, who attended nearby Madison High School and had been due to graduate this month.
He had been part of the school’s wrestling team.
The mother of one of the suspects had warned police Monday morning in a call around 9:42 a.m. that her son had run away, might be suicidal and had taken her vehicle and several of her weapons, including a 9mm handgun, a shotgun and a mini 14., according to officials.
She told police her son left with a companion, who was dressed in camouflage.
Police were sent to San Diego’s Fashion Valley Mall after license plate readers suggested the individuals were there.
Officers were speaking with the mother when the shooting outside the mosque was reported.
After the attack, investigators were seen outside a home in San Diego thought to belong to a relative of at least one of the individuals, NBC San Diego reports.
Multiple crime scenes
Local police and federal agents from the FBI and ATF are investigating the case, which has a crime scene spread across multiple locations.
The three victims of the shooting were discovered outside the Islamic Center, while the two suspects were found a few blocks away.
By the time police arrived at the Islamic Center, the gunmen had reportedly already left. Officers got another call about shots fired at a landscape gardner nearby and headed to that location.
On the 3800 block of Hatton Street, police said they found the two suspects dead in their vehicle in the middle of the street.
Searching for a motive
Investigators are treating the shooting at the mosque, the largest in San Diego County, as a hate crime.
“Because of the Islamic Center location, we are considering this a hate crime until it’s not,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters on Monday.
“And at this point we’re going to work closely with the FBI to make sure that we are matching all the resources that we need for this investigation.”
Police said the suspects hadn’t made a specific threat against the mosque before the shooting, but that there was evidence they had engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric.”
Investigators found anti-Islamic writing in the white 2018 BMW SUV in which the suspects were found, as well as a weapon used in the attack with the words “hate speech” written on it, law enforcement sources told The New York Times. Press photographs from the scene also revealed a red gas canister with an Nazi SS sticker on it.
One of the suspects reportedly left a suicide note that discussed “racial pride,” CNN reports, citing law enforcement sources.
The FBI said it is surging resources to the area and federal officials including FBI Director Kash Patel and President Donald Trump have been briefed.
Police plan to review security video from the scene of the shooting.
“The FBI is meticulously assessing the situation and is prepared to employ every resource we have to uncover the facts of this incident,” San Diego-based FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily told reporters Monday.
“No community should have to go through such a tragic incident, but we will work tirelessly until we learn the truth.”
Agents are also interviewing family members and friends, Remily said.
The FBI has called on community members to submit any pertinent photo or video evidence to the bureau.
A slain security guard who stopped a tragedy
Police have said little so far about the victims of Monday’s shooting, beside the fact that they were all adults.
Officials credited one of the victims, a security guard, with stopping more deaths from taking place inside the center.
“One of the deceased is a security guard that works there and I think played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse,” Chief Wahl said.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. In the UK, people having mental health crises can contact the Samaritans at 116 123 or jo@samaritans.org
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