Family Guns Seized a Year Before San Diego Mosque Attack
New details have emerged revealing that police confiscated 26 firearms from the home of one of the San Diego mosque shooters a full year before the attack, raising urgent questions about whether the tragedy could have been prevented. Caleb Liam Vazquez, 18, and Cain Lee Clark, 17, killed three men at the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18 before dying by suicide in what the FBI is investigating as a hate crime.
Missed Warning Signs
On January 29, 2025, law enforcement obtained a court order under California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) law to remove 26 guns from the Vazquez family home after reports that the then-17-year-old was idolizing Nazis and mass shooters, according to court records obtained by the Associated Press. Officers who conducted a welfare check wrote that Vazquez was “involved in suspicious behavior idolizing nazis and mass shooters.”
Court filings show Vazquez had also been committed to involuntary psychiatric hospitalization, and his father initially denied police entry when they requested to inspect how weapons were stored. The father later signed an affidavit stating the family had voluntarily moved the guns to a secure storage facility days earlier. The Vazquez family has said Caleb was on the autism spectrum and that exposure to “hateful rhetoric, extremist content, and propaganda” on the internet contributed to his radicalization.
The Attack
On the morning of May 18, Clark’s mother called police around 9:40 a.m., reporting that her son was suicidal, dressed in camouflage, and had taken multiple weapons from the home. Officers were still interviewing her about where the teens might be when the shooting began at approximately 11:43 a.m. at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the largest mosque in San Diego County.
The three victims — Amin Abdullah, 51, a security guard and father of eight; Mansour Kaziha, 78, the mosque’s longtime caretaker; and Nadir Awad, 57, who lived across the street — are being hailed as heroes. According to police and witness accounts, Abdullah exchanged gunfire with the attackers and initiated a lockdown that saved approximately 140 children who were in the building. Kaziha and Awad confronted the gunmen in the parking lot, drawing them away from the mosque.
“All three of our victims did not die in vain,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said. “Without distracting the attention, without delaying the actions of these two individuals, without question, there would have been many more fatalities.”
Online Radicalization
The two teenagers met online and shared white supremacist ideologies, according to the FBI. In writings obtained by authorities, they expressed hatred toward Jewish people, Muslims, Black people, and other groups. FBI Special Agent Mark Remily said the teens “didn’t discriminate on who they hated.”
Samira Benz of the Violence Prevention Network, which works to counter violent extremism, told the Associated Press that the work of deradicalization has become increasingly complicated as the internet creates niche, meme-based languages that can be fleeting and hard to decipher. “Even if a parent is looking at the phone of their child, they don’t necessarily see something bad is going on,” Benz said.
Gaps in the Red Flag System
The case has exposed potential shortcomings in California’s red flag law. While the GVRO successfully identified Vazquez as a threat and removed guns from his home, it did not include ongoing monitoring or prevent access to weapons from other sources. Investigators recovered more than 30 firearms from homes associated with both teens following the attack.
The Vazquez family, in a statement released through their attorney, said they “stand firmly against the ideology and actions that led to this tragedy” and apologized to the families of the victims. The Guardian reported that Vazquez had also been flagged by the FBI as a potential threat last year.
Broader Context
The attack comes amid rising hate crimes targeting Muslim and Jewish communities. The Islamic Center had previously received hate mail, and Imam Taha Hassane noted the community had been on edge. The three victims are being remembered as pillars of the community. Hawaa Abdullah, the security guard’s daughter, said her father took his job so seriously he would sometimes skip meals during shifts because “he was afraid that if he were on his break, something bad will happen.”
What’s Next
The FBI continues to lead the investigation, seeking to determine how the teens obtained the weapons used in the attack and what specific online platforms facilitated their radicalization. The case has renewed debate about whether red flag laws need strengthening, including provisions for ongoing monitoring and better coordination between law enforcement, mental health services, and online platforms. As communities across the country mourn, the question of whether earlier intervention could have prevented the tragedy remains unanswered.