Instagram post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cHe heroically shot one of the victims, but they were fully armored so it did little to stop them,\u201d said the man, identified by mosque Imam Taha Hassane as \u201cBrother Os.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the video, the man identified as Brother Os described how the gunmen rushed toward the mosque \u201cas soon as they parked their car.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when they exchanged gunfire with the security guard and sent the two other victims scrambling in the parking lot.<\/p>\n
At one point, Wahl said, the suspects came within 15 feet of children at the center but, seeing nobody, instead went into the parking lot to attack the two other victims.<\/p>\n
In the parking lot, the two victims were taking cover behind vehicles, calling police when they were chased and killed by the gunmen.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll three of our victims did not die in vain,\u201d Wahl said. \u201cWithout distracting the attention, without delaying the actions of these two individuals, without a question there would have been many more fatalities yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the entrance of the Islamic Center of San Diego was blocked with police tape, and a man stood outside the black iron gate, cradling his head in his hands while he wept. <\/p>\n
The security guard to the building, one of the victims in the shooting, was his friend. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a good man,\u201d the man screamed toward the entrance but at no one in particular. He declined to provide his name.<\/p>\n
An early focus has been on one of the assailants, a San Diego high school student whose mother reported that he was suicidal and potentially armed soon before the shooting occurred.<\/p>\n
The student, 17, and a second person, 18, opened fire at the center Monday morning around 11:30 a.m., authorities said. They were found minutes later at a location not far from the center, dead of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to authorities.<\/p>\n
One of the guns had hate speech written on it, law enforcement sources told The Times, and anti-Islamic writings were found in a vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least one of the suspects took a firearm from their parents\u2019 home\u201d and left a suicide note, \u201cwriting about racial pride,\u201d sources said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of how the radicalization occurred we\u2019re still digging into all of that,\u201d Remly said.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement officials said they were conducting extensive interviews of the suspects\u2019 family, friends and acquaintances. Federal officials also executed three search warrants, which resulted in the discovery of more than 30 firearms and a crossbow at two of the locations, Remly said. <\/p>\n
Officials seized several pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, tactical gear, as well as electronics, he said. <\/p>\n
But the weapons were not registered to the two gunmen, Wahl said, but to one of their parents. He said investigators were looking into how the weapons were obtained.<\/p>\n
According to law enforcement sources, the FBI is investigating a livestream feed of the attack or the aftermath from inside the BMW that captures the teens in combat outfits that include Nazi symbols with guns visible. <\/p>\n
When asked about the livestream, Wahl declined to provide details and said \u201cwe are actively going through their electronics. <\/p>\n
Monday afternoon, FBI agents were searching the suspect\u2019s home on Lehrer Drive, according to law enforcement sources. The house is around two miles from the Islamic Center, which is in the Clairemont Mesa neighborhood. <\/p>\n
The suspect was enrolled in a virtual learning academy at the San Diego Unified School District and was on track to graduate high school this semester, according to district spokesperson James Canning.<\/p>\n
He previously participated in wrestling at Madison High School but did not take part in any on-campus activities this school year, said Canning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important for people to understand this person wasn\u2019t there on Friday and then all of a sudden Monday this is the situation,\u201d Canning said. \u201cThey were in their virtual classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although authorities have not named the first suspect, three sources identified him as Cain Clark. Two law enforcement sources identified the second suspect as Caleb Vazquez.<\/p>\n
Wahl said Monday that his department got a call from the suspect\u2019s mother about a \u201crunaway juvenile.\u201d He said the mother said guns were missing and that her son left with a companion wearing camouflage outfits.<\/p>\n
Police were interviewing her when the first calls of the active shooter came in, he said.<\/p>\n
Wahl did not specify the threats connected to the suspects.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no specific threat, especially no specific threat to the Islamic Center. It was just general hate kind of speech that I think covered a wide gamut,\u201d Wahl said. \u201cAgain, we are still actively investigating this as we speak, but it was more generalized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Authorities said that, when they arrived at the center at about 11:45 a.m., they found three adults dead in front of the building. Police then received additional calls about gunfire several blocks away. A landscaper was shot at but not injured in the 7100 block of Salerno Street. Minutes later, police also responded to the 3800 block of Salerno Street where, inside, officers found the two suspects dead. Little is known about the second suspect.<\/p>\n
Clark attended an elementary and a middle school in person at the district, but following the pandemic his family enrolled him in online schooling full-time, Canning said. <\/p>\n
During the shooting, five of the district\u2019s schools close to the Islamic Center were placed on lockdown. San Diego Unified Supt. Fabi Bagula said in a statement Monday that \u201chate has no place in our community or schools\u201d and that \u201cevery student family and community member deserves to feel safe, valued and able to worship and gather without fear.\u201d <\/p>\n
The district is making counselors available to all students and families affected by the tragedy. <\/p>\n
Officials have not spoken of a specific motive, but San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said: \u201cHate has no home in San Diego. Islamophobia has no home in San Diego. An attack on any one of our communities \u2014 on any San Diegan because of who they are, what they believe, or how they pray \u2014 is an attack on all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n