Two teenagers carried out a shooting at the largest place of Islamic worship in San Diego, killing three people, including a father of eight working as a security guard.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The two teenagers behind an attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, California, which resulted in the killing of three people, have been identified as Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez. 📍 WHEN & WHERE: The shooting occurred on May 18, 2026, at the Islamic Center of San Diego in California. 📺 DETAIL: Cain Clark, a 17-year-old student at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, and Caleb Vazquez, an 18-year-old accomplice, have been identified as the perpetrators of the attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, California. The two teenagers dressed themselves in camouflage before driving to the center. The pair killed three people, including the center’s security guard, Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, before taking their own lives. Abdullah’s actions reportedly prevented the attack from being much worse, saving numerous lives. The shooting occurred at roughly 11:40 AM. The attackers used a handgun, a shotgun, and a rifle stolen from Clark’s mother. Clark switched to online learning in 2021. “They took all of their classes online. They talked with teachers online. That was the parent’s choice to move them into that school,” said San Diego Unified School District spokesman James Canning. Despite taking classes online, Clark continued to participate in high school wrestling throughout 2024 and 2025, before vanishing from the campus entirely. Canning confirmed that Clark “was not on campus at all” in 2026. While in isolation, reportedly suicidal, Clark wrote a note containing broadly anti-Islamic sentiment and racial rhetoric, but made “no specific threat, especially no specific threat to the Islamic Center,” according to the police chief. In addition to the note, a red gasoline canister with a sticker displaying Nazi SS runes was found at the site. Clark had no track record of misconduct at the school. 🎯 IMPACT: The Islamic Center is the largest place of Islamic worship in San Diego. The center hosts the Al Rashid school, a weekend school that educates children from kindergarten to third grade. No children were injured in the attack. Authorities are currently conducting an investigation into the attackers’ exact motivations. |
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.
KEY QUOTE: “The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to
.jpg){kind=link}
