2026 Islamic Center of San Diego shooting
The mosque a few hours after the shooting
Map
Location 32°49′14″N 117°09′56″W / 32.8205°N 117.1655°W / 32.8205; -117.1655
Islamic Center of San Diego
Clairemont, San Diego, California, US
Date May 18, 2026 (2026-05-18)
c. 11:43 a.m. – c. 1:07 p.m. (PDT; UTC−07:00)
Target Muslims
Attack type
  • Drive-by shooting
  • school shooting
  • murder–suicide
  • hate crime
Weapons
  • Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle[1]
  • 9mm handgun[2]
  • Shotgun
Deaths 5 (including both perpetrators)
Injured 1 (non-firearm related injury)
Perpetrators Cain Lee Clark and Caleb Liam Vazquez
Defender Amin Abdullah
Motive Under investigation (possibly Islamophobia)

On May 18, 2026, a shooting occurred at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD), the largest mosque in San Diego, California, United States. Two teenage gunmen fatally shot a security guard and two staff members outside the mosque before dying from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

The perpetrators recorded a live video of their shooting, and a racist manifesto that appeared to have been written by the shooters was found online during investigation. Authorities stated that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

Background

The Islamic Center of San Diego is located in the Clairemont Mesa East neighborhood of San Diego, California. It opened in 1989[3] and is the largest mosque in San Diego County.[4] The facility houses the lower campus, pre-K to third grade, of Bright Horizon Academy, a pre-K to 12th grade school that was formerly named the Islamic School of San Diego.[5]

The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement that the shooting occurred amid record high complaints of bias and discrimination against Muslims. CAIR recorded its highest annual number of complaints in 2025 since beginning such reporting in 1996.[6] The mosque increased its security after a hate-related incident in 2022.[7]

Shooting

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Location of mosque
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Shooting of landscaper
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Location of suicides

At 9:42 a.m., the San Diego Police Department received a 911 call from the mother of one of the perpetrators stating her son was missing, was suicidal, and was last seen wearing camo. She also said that her car, a white 2018 BMW X1,[8] and several of her firearms were missing.[9][10] Police Chief Scott Wahl said three weapons were stolen.[11]

At about 11:43 a.m., police received reports about a shooting at the ICSD.[12] Amin Abdullah, a security guard, engaged and struck one of the shooters in gunfire outside the mosque and radioed those inside the building to enter lockdown.[13] According to The Washington Post, this likely bought time for the teachers and 140 students inside the building to prepare and hide from the shooters. San Diego police chief Scott Wahl said that the shooters entered the mosque after killing Abdullah and moved room to room. The shooters were lured out of the building by two men who called 911; the two men were unable to flee and were cornered and killed by the shooters.[14][15][16]

According to The Washington Post, the police arrived at the mosque at 11:47 a.m., where they found the three victims in the parking lot.[14] Police also began to receive reports of more gunfire from a couple of blocks away from the ICSD.[17] A witness said the gunmen had carried out a drive-by shooting, targeting a male landscaper while yelling, before fleeing at around 11:48 a.m. The witness said he was bleeding from the head, but police stated that the witness may have been shot in the helmet, which deflected the bullet.[18][19]

The shooters were found deceased in the BMW nearly 0.3 miles (0.48 km) from the mosque. One gunman had shot the other twice in the head inside of the car and then killed himself.[20] No officers fired shots.[21][22] Bomb technicians cleared the vehicle where the suspects were found dead.[23] All children were evacuated safely.[24][25] At 1:07 p.m., police confirmed via Twitter that the threat was neutralized.[26]

Victims

Both San Diego Police and the mosque's imam said that one security guard and two mosque staff members were shot and found dead outside the mosque.[27] Authorities did not immediately release the names of the victims.[28] Community members identified the victims as security guard Amin Abdullah, 51, a teacher named Mohamed Nader, 57, and Mansour Kaziha, 78, a caretaker known as Abu Ezz[a], who had worked at the mosque since it was built in the 1980s.[30][31] The chairman of the mosque’s board of directors, Ahmed Shabaik, told Al Jazeera all three men had played a role in responding to the assailants.[32]

San Diego police chief Scott Wahl said that Abdullah's actions were heroic and he was "pivotal" in preventing more bloodshed.[33][34] Sheikh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who had spoken with Abdullah's son, said that "he wanted to defend the innocent, so he decided to become a security guard."[35][36][37]

Perpetrators

Law enforcement identified the deceased male shooters as 17-year-old Cain Lee Clark of San Diego and 18-year-old Caleb Liam Vazquez of Chula Vista; both were found dead inside a vehicle.[33] The shooters met online, realizing later that they both lived in the San Diego area.[38]

Cain Lee Clark

Clark lived in San Diego throughout his life[39] and attended virtual classes at James Madison High School.[40][33] A spokesman for the San Diego Unified School District said that Clark had been attending school online since 2021 and was set to graduate a few weeks after the attack.[39] Longtime neighbors spoke to KABC-TV, replying that they last saw Clark a few hours before the shooting, waving as he got inside the vehicle. They described his family as good neighbors.[39] In the manifesto, Cain described himself as a Christian ecofascist.[41]

The Los Angeles Times found social media accounts under usernames that Clark identified as his, which showed school shootings as video games and profile photos depicting the user dressed in camouflage with Nazi emblems and a grimacing skull mask with a Confederate flag in the background.[42] In an image uploaded in April, Clark showed the book Siege, a collection of essays by militant neo-Nazi James Mason, who advocated for lone wolf terrorism under the cause of "white revolution". Other accounts showed him using the phrase "groyper"; images from Zero Day, a film about a school shooting; videos of him flashing the OK gesture, a white nationalist sign; and a picture of a younger Clark with a computer-generated blond wig and the mythical Aryan world of Agartha in the background.[43]

Caleb Liam Vazquez

Vazquez lived in the Eastlake Trails neighborhood of Chula Vista throughout his life. Neighbors said Vazquez's family had lived there for years and described them as nice people.[44] According to ABC News, the Chula Vista Police Department spoke with Vazquez in 2025 after a person who knew him prior expressed concern after Vazquez was reportedly interested in "extremist ideology and mass-casualty attacks".[45]

Aftermath

The Islamic Center of San Diego's imam stated that teachers, students, and school staff members were safely evacuated.[46]

The New York City Police Department announced the deployment of more officers to mosques across New York City.[47]

President Donald Trump and Governor of California Gavin Newsom were briefed on the shooting.[48][46] The mayor of San Diego, Todd Gloria, was also briefed along with the head of the FBI in San Diego.[49]

Investigation

FBI Evidence Response Team gathering evidence regarding the shooting

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting law enforcement in San Diego.[50]

Authorities stated that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.[25] According to The New York Times (NYT), two law enforcement officials said investigators discovered anti-Islamic writing in the vehicle where the perpetrators were found dead. The officials said one of the shooters took a firearm from his parents' house and left a suicide note. Hate speech was written on at least one of the firearms used in the shooting, and anti-Islamic writings were found in their vehicle..[51][52] CNN reported that the suicide note contained writings about racism.[53] Investigators reported finding a Schutzstaffel logo on a fuel container in the car.[54]

Authorities searched three homes associated with the shooters; "numerous" firearms were seized as part of their investigation, including crossbows, pistols, rifles, and shotguns, as well as ammunition and tactical gear.[38]

The flag of the Atomwaffen Division was seen on the shooter's attire.

The shooters shared a livestream video during the shooting.[55] Analysts of the footage identified a Sonnenrad patch on the plate carrier believed to be worn by Clark,[45] and the flag of the Atomwaffen Division is visible on the shooters' attire.[56]

A 75-page manifesto purportedly written by the shooters, was later found online. In it, the manifesto's authors espoused Islamophobia, antisemitism, accelerationism, white nationalism, homophobia, misogyny, nihilistic violent extremism, influence from incel culture and anti-Trump views. They also praised the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings and other mass shooters.[57][55][43]

Reactions

The director of the mosque, Imam Taha Hassane, said it was "extremely outrageous to target a place of worship".[35][58] The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a condemnation of the shooting and executive director of CAIR in San Diego, Tazheen Nizam, stated: "No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school. We are working to learn more about this incident, and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers."[59]

Mayor of San Diego Todd Gloria condemned the shooting on X, stating: "Anyone who seeks to do harm here should understand the response will be swift and you will be brought to justice. No one in our city should ever have to fear for their safety in a house of faith."[60] Governor of California Gavin Newsom made a post on X condemning the shooting and sending condolences to the victims, stating: "Hate has no place in California and we will not tolerate acts of terror ... To the San Diego Muslim community: California stands with you."[60]

Clark's grandfather released a statement following the shooting, saying "We're very sorry for what happened" and "It's a shock."[61]

President Donald Trump called the shooting a "terrible situation" and stated: "I've been given some early updates but we're going to be going back and looking at it very strongly."[48]

Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting on X, stating: "Islamophobia endangers Muslim communities across this country. We must confront it directly and stand together against the politics of fear and division."[59]

See also

  • List of shootings in California
  • Escondido mosque fire and Poway synagogue shooting, two incidents committed by one perpetrator who targeted religious institutions in San Diego County in 2019
  • Quebec City mosque shooting, an Islamophobic terrorist attack on a mosque in Canada

Notes

  1. ^ "Father of Glory"[29]

References

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