San Diego mosque attack suspect idolized Nazis before deadly assault: Report

One of the suspects in the deadly attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego in California had been flagged by police more than a year earlier for “idolizing Nazis and mass shooters,” according to a report on Friday.

The New York Times, citing court documents, reported that police in Chula Vista, California, secured a court order in Jan. 2025 to confiscate firearms from the home of 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez after becoming alarmed by his behavior.

“Child was involved in suspicious behavior idolizing Nazis and mass shooters,” a police officer wrote in the protective order, according to the report.

Vazquez and 17-year-old Cain Clark attacked the mosque Monday, killing three people before dying from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to police and the FBI.

The report said Vazquez had previously been placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold and had been on law enforcement’s radar long before the shooting.

The FBI had also been alerted to concerns about one of the teens and had an open inquiry within its threat-monitoring system, it reported, citing internal agency communications.

The police said the two suspects met online and shared racist and extremist views targeting multiple racial and religious groups.

Following the attack, investigators reportedly recovered a document apparently written by the teens outlining extremist beliefs and a vision of a racially and religiously exclusive society.

The attack targeted the largest mosque in San Diego and is being investigated as a hate crime.