Haaris News
On Monday, attackers killed three people at a San Diego mosque. They showed the shooting live online and shared a long paper filled with racist, anti-Muslim, and anti-Jewish ideas.
BY Mahnoor | 21-05-2026
CNN saw a disturbing video that seems to show the attackers shooting guns inside the mosque. They had Nazi and white supremacist symbols on their weapons and clothes. The video also seems to show one of the shooters killing the other in a car, and then killing himself.
Officials have identified the attackers as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18.
Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which studies extremism, got a video and a 75-page document full of hateful writing, supposedly by the shooters, and gave them to CNN. A police source familiar with the case, who wanted to stay anonymous because the investigation is still happening, told CNN that they think the video is real and that they are looking at the writings.
During a news conference, FBI special agent Mark Remily said they found a written statement and are looking into it. It’s uncertain if this is the same document CNN saw.
Researchers at ISD told CNN they think the document is real. They said the content matches the livestream video and mentions usernames that have posted similar ideas on social media before the shooting.
A video clip seen by CNN shows the gunmen in the parking lot of the Islamic Center of San Diego, the biggest mosque in the area. They walk into the building with rifles and at least one gun.
At least one of the men seems to shoot through the building’s doors toward the outside of the Islamic center. They walk around inside, and one man looks like he’s fixing his rifle. CNN confirmed that the video matches the Islamic center, including the entrance and inside area.
The video shows two people outside; one shoots a gun. Someone is on the ground in blood. The video ends with the two shooters getting into a car.
A later clip seems to show the men in a car.
A passenger recorded a video of a gun being fired through the car window. The passenger spoke to the camera, but the video had no sound.
The driver stopped the car and seemed to shoot the passenger. Then, the driver shot himself in the head.
CNN pinpointed the video’s end to a place near the mosque’s south side, where police found the vehicle and the dead gunmen.
The guns in the video are black and have white writing and symbols drawn on them by hand. The writing includes Nazi codes and short forms, and messages about previous mass shootings.
The ideas behind those symbols are explained more clearly in the paper that seems to be signed by the two shooters.
The document has two statements from each gunman showing support for White supremacist beliefs. They mention the racist ‘Great Replacement’ theory, which claims White people are being intentionally replaced. They also express admiration for past mass shooters and promote harmful and antisemitic views.
Clark’s alleged statement expresses strong hatred for non-White and non-Christian cultures. Vazquez’s message reportedly praises Adolf Hitler as a hero.
The report says they used satellite images and Google Street View to check out the places they were going to attack. It also says the attackers visited the targets in person to plan.
The writers mention other mass shooters by name. They even seem to admire the person who killed 51 people at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, and who also showed the attack live online.
The writing by Vazquez mentions how online ‘incel’ culture influenced him and talks about his past mental health problems. In Clark’s statement, he says he did not plan to survive the attack and expects he won’t feel any guilt.
Some symbols the shooters used look like those used by other recent mass shooters. Experts call these shooters ‘nihilistic violent extremists.’ This includes writing the name of another killer and hateful things on their weapons.
Federal officials are warning about a greater risk of attacks from people in or influenced by violent extremist groups that want to destroy society. Some of these groups promote White supremacy, but they are mostly driven by a desire to cause chaos rather than a clear set of beliefs. A Homeland Security memo from October said these individuals might try to broadcast violent acts online to get attention.
Cody Zoschak, a senior analyst at ISD, stated that the teen gunmen’s writings stood out from other extremists because they openly supported neo-Nazi ideas.
“There are strong signs these people were neo-Nazis, specifically militant accelerationists,” Zoschak said. “They know enough about the ideas to suggest they’ve been involved in these groups for a while.”
