Suspects identified in San Diego mosque shooting
SAN DIEGO (NBC, KYMA) - Following Monday's shooting at a mosque in San Diego, the two suspected gunmen, both teens, were found dead inside a car blocks away, and have been identified.
Soon after, two homes in the area were surrounded by law enforcement.
The two suspected mosque shooters were found on Hatton and Salerno dead in this white SUV from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl.
"We thought he abandoned car, but apparently was was still in there once the cops came up," said one witness.
Multiple sources say 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez is one of the dead suspects in the deadly mosque shooting.
Just a few hours after the teen suspects' deaths, San Diego police officers in SWAT gear surrounded a home on Paradise Trail in chula vista.
Online records show members of the Vazquez family live at the home.
A number of neighbors around the house say the family was quiet but nice when spoken to, and not many were familiar with a teenager living there.
One neighbor said he witnessed police swarming the house on Paradise Trail.
"They never used a megaphone that I heard, but they seem to be looking for somebody. And I heard that they made a phone call, and the person they were looking for was not in the house. So, they went inside and searched," the neighbor shared.
After being accused of shooting and killing three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont, police say Vasquez and the other suspect, identified as 17-year-old Cain Clark, took aim at a landscaper on Salerno and Hatton. They say his helmet saved him from a bullet to the head.
"He like jumped onto the ground and he was just taken by paramedics. I don't think he got shot. He was sitting fine. We talked to him, but he was saying that it happened right in front of him," said another witness.
The two teens' final moments came on Batista, about a block away from the attack on the gardener and three-tenths of a mile from the mosque.
Members of Clairemont and the Muslim community left with so many questions.
"We're all in shock. That's number one. Shock, devastation, sadness, horror...I think, to be honest, it's like Why? Are we safe? These are the questions that come to our mind. Where can we be safe? Why? What's the motive?" Sarah Elefsky, a mosque member, said.
Police also say hours before the shooting, Clark's mother called the police, saying her son was believed to be suicidal and had run away with another person. She also said her firearms and car were missing.
