Alleged San Diego mosque shooter identified after 5 people killed in attack
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: Michael Ho Wai Lee/Anadolu via Getty Images
The identity of one of the two alleged teenage gunmen who carried out a deadly attack on a San Diego mosque has been revealed after three people were shot dead at the place of worship yesterday (May 18).
Police were first alerted to a potential threat by a 911 call at 9.42am on Monday morning, after one of the suspects' moms got in contact to say that her son was missing, along with her car and a number of her weapons.
She shared that her son, one of the suspected shooters, had been feeling suicidal and was with a companion, adding that both of them were wearing camouflage gear, according to information shared with NY Post by law enforcement.
One of the shooters has now been identified by law enforcement sources speaking to the New York Post and LA Times as 17-year-old Cain Clark. The other alleged killer has not yet been officially identified.
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A police official told the Post that one of the suspects had left behind a note filled with messages about racial pride.
Two hours would elapse between the teen's mother sharing her concerns with police, who immediately initiated a search for the teen, and the deadly massacre that took place at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
Police alerted a local mall and a high school linked to one of the suspects, where he had once been a wrestling champion and was enrolled in an online virtual program, with an automatic number plate recognition system then used in an attempt to locate them.
Then they received reports of gunfire at a mosque, attending the scene within just four minutes. By then, three people, including a 'heroic' security guard, had been killed.
Both of the suspected teenage shooters were found inside of a BMW just a few blocks away from the Islamic place of worship, dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Along with the three people murdered at the mosque in Monday's devastating gun rampage, this takes the incident's death toll to five.
But as Muslim communities across California and the country as a whole reel from this attack on their fellow faithful, more information has been revealed about the alleged killers.
Images from where their vehicle was discovered by law enforcement reveal more of the likely far right and white nationalist motive behind the shooting, with Nazi SS symbols seen on a gas canister and racist slogans inscribed on a firearm.
With the identity of the other shooter yet to be confirmed publicly by law enforcement, the names of the victims are also being held back by officials though they are all understood to be men.
One of those killed on Monday has been named locally as security guard Amin Abdullah, who was a father of eight, who is believed to have prevented even more people losing their lives in the gun rampage.
"It's fair to say his actions were heroic," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference on Monday. "Undoubtedly, he saved lives today."
The mosque echoed Wahl's words, adding that Abdullah was 'a courageous man who put himself on the line of the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community'.
9.42am PT Monday May 18 - San Diego Police Department receives a call from a mom about a runaway teenager. Over the course of a hour, she reveals the teen is suicidal and her car and several weapons are missing
11.42am - The first 911 call comes through about an active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego
11.47am - Police arrive at the scene and find three people have died
11.52am - Law enforcement receives further reports of gunfire a few blocks away near the 7100 block of Salerno St. It's reported a landscaper has been shot at. A few minutes later, officers find a vehicle. Inside, two teens, believed to be the shooters, are found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.