Three men were killed at the Islamic Centre of San Diego, California, in the United States on Monday, i.e. on May 18, 2026. The investigation has been ongoing, and it’s being considered a hate crime.

According to the police, the two suspects, who were identified as Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez, passed away, which is believed to be from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, in a vehicle a few blocks away from where the shooting took place. Now, some more details about the suspects and the incident have been surfacing, including the fact that it was one of the suspects’ mothers who called 911 and warned them about her son. Let’s have a look at what exactly she informed the police about.

San Diego shooting case: One of the suspects’ moms warned police

San Diego Police Department Assistant Chief Scott Wahl confirmed that one of the suspects’ mothers had called 911 a few hours before the shooting took place. In the call, the mother revealed that her son was suicidal, and a suicide note was found. It has not been revealed what the suicide note contained. However, NBC News reported that the suicide note contained references to racial pride. As per Wahl, the mom also reported that her son was with someone and several guns were missing from their family home, including a 9mm handgun, a shotgun, and a Mini-14 rifle.

PC: Denis Poroy for CA Post

According to the mom, her son also stole her car, and he was with someone, and both of them were dressed in ‘camo’. Soon after the information reached the police, they started investigating, and amid this, the report about the shooting incident reached them. The police arrived at the Islamic Centre of San Diego, California, and then three deaths were reported. One of the deceased was the security guard of the mosque, who was tagged as ‘heroic’ by Wahl, as according to the officials, his actions prevented the situation from becoming even deadlier.

PC: Reuters

More about the San Diego shooting and the suspects

The hate crime of the shooting at the Islamic Centre of San Diego, California, has grabbed the attention, and as reported, the suspects were both teens. Identified as Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez, they were 17 and 18 years old, allegedly. Cian was said to be a local student at James Madison High School in San Diego, which was 1.1 miles away from the mosque where the shooting incident took place. Initially, the authorities thought that it was a mall in the Fashion Valley, which was under threat, and as it turned out, the shooting took place at the Islamic Centre of San Diego, which was reportedly filled with people, including children.

However, some other reports claimed that Cian was never enrolled as a student with the school, and rather, he was a wrestler and was associated with the school’s wrestling team, as well. According to CBS 8, Cian has been at iHigh Virtual Academy since 2021, within the San Diego Unified School District, and got associated with the wrestling team of Madison High School in 2024-2025. Caleb was Cian’s companion, and both of them, reportedly, died soon after the shooting took place.

PC: madison.warhawk.wrestling/Facebook

What do you think about the shooting incident in San Diego?