'Hate rhetoric' belonging to teen gunmen discovered as pair are identified after opening fire on San Diego mosque and killing three

By JOE HUTCHISON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and MELISSA KOENIG, US REPORTER and JOSH BOSWELL, CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Published: 01:31, 19 May 2026 | Updated: 01:58, 19 May 2026 The two teenage suspects who opened fire on a San Diego mosque scrawled hate rhetoric on their weapons before carrying out the attack.  Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, were found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds after the shooting on Monday which saw three people killed. Officials told CNN that hate speech was inscribed on one of the weapons used in the attack. Authorities said on a Monday night news conference that police first received a call about a 'runaway juvenile'.  One of their mothers reported that her son was suicidal, that several of her weapons were missing. She had also found a note that her son left behind. 'That began to trigger a larger threat assessment picture,' Police Chief Scott Wahl said.  Police described both teens as being dressed in ‘camo fatigue’ and referred to the car they used as a 2018 BMW X1 SUV, on their radios shortly after the incident. One officer said on the radio that guns 'stolen from the house’ included 'a 9mm handgun, a shotgun and a mini 14’. Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, were found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds after the shooting on Monday Security guard Amin Abdullah has been identified as one of the victims of the shooting on Monday Investigators said they are also probing anti-Islamic writings that were also found inside the vehicle. One of those who was killed was security guard Amin Abdullah, a father of eight children. His friend Anees Faraj, a fellow security guard at the mosque who was not working, described the events as shocking and confirmed Amin as the guard who died. Police Chief Wahl said that Amin and his actions helped prevent an even deadlier attack.  On Monday night Wahl said: 'His actions were heroic and he undoubtedly saved lives today.' TV footage from a helicopter showed armed response teams gathered outside a building, with one unidentified person lying in a pool of blood.  The imam of the mosque confirmed that no children were injured during the shooting. The place of worship is also home to the Al Rashid school. Kids in kindergarten through third grade attend the school.  Panicked parents arrived at the scene to retrieve their children after two teenage gunman opened fire  'The entire school is safe. All the kids, all the staff and the teachers are safe out of the Islamic Center,' Imam Taha Hassane said in a Facebook video update. 'We have a few casualties, not confirmed yet. There is no threat at this moment, but we want everyone to stay away from the Islamic Center of San Diego.' Crowds of young students were seen being evacuated from the building by law enforcement officers.  Panicked parents rushed to the scene to pick up their children after police set up a reunification site at San Diego Clairemont Seventh-Day Adventist Church.  Several people were seen on the phone trying to get answers about what happened while a woman was seen crouching down outside the mosque as the terror unfolded.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.