North Carolina Teen Charged in Connection with San Diego Mosque Shooting

A 17-year-old girl from North Carolina has been charged with murder for her involvement in a shooting at a San Diego mosque, which left three people dead. The teenager, identified in court documents as Sarah Lindsey Santiago, recorded a livestream of the attack and disseminated the attackers’ white-supremacist writings, according to Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill.

In a news conference held in Winston-Salem, O’Neill announced that Santiago was arrested last week. On Monday, a grand jury indicted her on three counts of murder and one count of conspiracy. Her attorney has yet to respond to a request from The Associated Press for comment.

Under North Carolina law, charges for aiding and abetting carry the same penalties as directly committing the offense. The indictment reveals that Santiago agreed beforehand to record the attack’s livestream, distribute it, and release a document authored by the attackers. Additionally, Santiago purchased a patch with a white-supremacist symbol and sent it to one of the gunmen to wear during the attack.

“The individual here, locally, was the person who was recording the livestream,” O’Neill stated. “She disseminated that information and she published their manifesto.”

The attack was perpetrated by Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, who stormed the Islamic Center on May 18. A security guard engaged them in gunfire, initiating a lockdown that protected 140 nearby children. The shooting resulted in the deaths of guard Amin Abdullah, center caretaker Mansour Kaziha, and Nadir Awad, whose spouse taught at the center.

Clark and Vazquez killed themselves in a vehicle after the attack. They had left behind writings filled with hate against various groups, citing the Christchurch shooter who killed 51 people at mosques in New Zealand as a model for their aggression. O’Neill mentioned that they planned further attacks on a Jewish temple and a mostly Black high school.

The attackers’ documents embraced far-right ideologies, alleging the replacement of white people by other populations. They displayed animosity towards Jews, Muslims, the LGBTQ+ community, Black people, women, and political perspectives on both sides.

Vazquez’s writings revealed mental health challenges and rejection by women. His family communicated that Vazquez was on the autism spectrum and growing resentment toward parts of his identity, which along with online hate, contributed to his radicalization.