San Diego mosque shooters left 75-page neo-Nazi manifesto blaming Jews for world's problems
The teenage gunmen who killed three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego called themselves "Sons of Tarrant" and wore Nazi symbols during the attack
A 75-page manifesto obtained by investigators revealed deep and pervasive neo-Nazi rhetoric targeting Jews, Muslims, and immigrants, and the LGBT community. The manifesto was titled "The New Crusade: Sons of Tarrant," referencing Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people in the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
In it, the alleged shooters, Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, wrote that all issues in the world "can be traced back to or be caused by one group, the Jews," accusing them of causing war, famine, exploitation of children, mass immigration, and the replacement of the white race. Vazquez wrote, "I don't hate Muslims, at least not really. What I do hate is the religion of Islam itself, and what I hate more than that is seeing them here, invading my country." Despite this, he killed Muslims.
The manifesto describes the Holocaust as "a complete fabrication" and blames Jews for Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, race mixing, the porn industry, and LGBTQ ideologies. The shooters wore swastikas and Atomwaffen-linked imagery and had the phrase "Race War Now" on their weapons and gear.
An ADL analysis cited a line from the writings: "I believe that accelerating towards the destruction of our current political system and towards an all-out race war for the purpose of a societal collapse is the only real way forward."
Investigators say the two shooters met online before discovering they both lived in the San Diego area. Investigators found more than 30 guns, ammunition, and a crossbow at two residences connected to the pair. FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily said the suspects "didn't discriminate on who they hated."
Among those killed were Mansour Kaziha, Nadir Award, and security guard Amin Abdullah. Abdullah activated the lockdown protocol and engaged the gunmen in a gunbattle, giving 140 students time to shelter before he was fatally shot. Kaziha and Awad were killed in the parking lot after drawing the attackers away from the building. A fundraiser for Abdullah's family raised nearly 2 million dollars by Tuesday.
The Islamic Center of San Diego reopened Wednesday for prayer services, with community members and non-Muslim supporters gathering outside to lay flowers and honor the three victims.