Teen suspects found dead in car after California mosque shooting identified
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Two teen suspects are dead after a shooting incident at the Islamic Centre of San Diego, in California.
The suspects, thought to be aged 17 and 19, were found dead in a car a few blocks from the mosque, police said.
Three people were killed in the attack, taking the total death toll from the incident to five.
A mother’s call to police around 9.42am about her missing teenage son set off a frantic search across San Diego, in California, hours before a deadly shooting at the city’s largest mosque.
Her son, along with another teenage gunman, opened fire at San Diego’s Islamic Centre, about 14km north of the central city, and killed three men before killing themselves a few blocks away, local police said.
Investigators have now identified the two suspects as Cain Clark, 17 and Caleb Vazquez, 18, according to NBC news.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said officers arrived four minutes after a 911 call had been received. They “observed what appeared to be three deceased victims out front,” he said.
Among those killed was a mosque security guard, who police believe “played a pivotal role” in keeping the attack from being “much worse,” Wahl said.
“It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” the police chief said at a news conference. “Undoubtedly he saved lives today.'
A family friend identified the guard as Amin Abdullah, a well-known face at the mosque who had been working there for more than a decade.
“He wasn’t just some security guard,” another one of his friends, Sam Hamideh, told CNN. “Every single time you crossed him, he always put a smile on your face.”
Hamideh said the guard was a father of eight children.
He believed the guard knowingly sacrificed himself to stop the gunmen reaching children at a school within the mosque.
“Because if he didn’t take that bullet, they would easily walk up the stairs,” he told CNN.
The two suspects were found dead in a car in the middle of the street a few blocks from the mosque, Wahl told CNN. It appeared they had taken their own lives.
Hate speech was scrawled on one of the weapons that was used, police said. Hate speech was also on a note found by authorities, they said.
One of the suspects, Cain Clark, was enrolled in a iHigh Virtual Academy and had been due to graduate this month, a spokesperson for the San Diego Unified School District told NBC.
According to San Diego Unified School District spokesperson James Canning, Clark wrestled during the 2024 - 2025 season at Madison High School, located about 1.6km from the Islamic Centre.
A frantic call hours before the shooting
About two hours before the attack, the mother of one of the suspects called police to report that her son was missing, Wahl told a news conference. She eventually realised that several of her weapons were missing, along with her vehicle.
The case became even more urgent when police learned that he was dressed in camouflage and that he was in the company of an acquaintance, and officers began using whatever technology they had available to locate the teens, including automated licence plate readers.
Wahl said that’s when police began getting reports of a shooting.
“It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship,” Imam Taha Hassane, the director of the centre, said.
“Our Islamic centre is a place of worship. People come to the Islamic centre to pray, to celebrate, to learn. Not only Muslims, but we have people from all walks of life.”
Hassane said he wanted to “thank all the people who contacted us from all over the country and even from overseas, to give condolences and to ask if there is anything they can do”.
California governor Gavin Newsom said worshippers should not have to fear for their lives.
“Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith.
“Thank you to the brave law enforcement officers and first responders who acted swiftly to protect the children and worshippers.
“To the San Diego Muslim community: California stands with you.”
US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the shooting.
“They’re giving a briefing on it, at the mosque … and it’s a terrible situation,” he said. “I’ve been given some early updates, but we’re going to be going back and looking at it very strongly.”
Earlier aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the parking lot of the centre that was surrounded by scores of police vehicles.
Police radio calls captured the first responses to the shootings: “We need three ambulances up to the intersection of Balboa and Eckstrom Ave.”
Residents in the neighbourhoods surrounding the mosque had been advised to shelter in their homes. A nearby school had been placed into lockdown.
The mosque is in a heavily residential neighbourhood. It is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its website.
– Stuff with agencies