The family of Caleb Vazquez, one of the two suspects in the Islamic Center of San Diego shooting, have said the teen was autistic and had been radicalized by online hate.
Mansour Kaziha, Nadir Awad, and Amin Abdullah were killed in the incident Monday, which is being investigated by the FBI as a hate crime.
The suspects’ bodies were found in a vehicle a few blocks from the mosque, apparently having taken their own lives.
“Over the last several days, our family has been trying to process the horrific actions carried out by our son against the Islamic Center San Diego Community,” 18 year-old Vazquez’s family said in a statement released by their attorney Colin Rudolph.
“We want to begin by acknowledging that nothing we say or do could ever repair the damage his actions have caused,” the statement continued.
“We are completely heartbroken and devastated by what has happened. We condemn these hateful and violent actions entirely.
“We reject hatred, extremism, bigotry, and violence in every form. We stand firmly against the ideology and actions that led to this tragedy. These actions do not reflect the values we raised our family with or the beliefs we hold in our hearts.”
Police recovered anti-Islamic writings and a gas canister bearing a Nazi SS sticker from the suspects’ vehicle, as well as weapons inscribed with racist messages, one of which read: “Race War Now.”
“Our son was on the autism spectrum, and it is painfully clear to us now that he struggled not only with accepting parts of his own identity but also grew to resent them,” the family’s statement continued.
“We believe this, combined with exposure to hateful rhetoric, extremist content, and propaganda spread across parts of the internet, social media, and other online platforms, contributed to his descent into radicalized ideologies and violent beliefs.
“While there is no excuse for his actions, we have come to recognize how dangerous online spaces are that normalize hatred.”
The Vazquez family said they had made repeated attempts to help their son through his “mental instability” but admitted: “We will forever live with the burden of wondering whether there was more we could have done to help prevent this senseless tragedy.
“As parents, we are grieving in ways we never imagined possible. But our pain does not compare to the suffering of the victims and their families.
“This moment is not about us. It is about the innocent people whose lives were taken, the survivors whose lives have been forever changed, and a grieving community trying to heal from unimaginable trauma.
“We can only pray that his actions and words do not inspire or incite further hatred or violence toward any community.
“They were the actions of an immensely lost, troubled, and misguided soul, and we hope no other family or community ever has to endure this kind of tragedy again.”
The three victims were honored at a prayer service at Snapdragon Stadium on the San Diego State University Mission Valley Campus Thursday, attended by hundreds of members of the local Muslim community.
They have been praised by the mosque as “martyred heroes” who lost their lives “protecting our children” and will be laid to rest, side by side, at the La Vista Memorial Park in National City.
