In a concerning situation, a mother in San Diego reported her son, who was reportedly suicidal, had gone missing. He was wearing camouflage and had taken a part of a weapon, leading to a significant police search just hours prior to a tragic incident.
Police spent around two hours trying to locate the suspects, identified later as Kane Clark, 17, and Caleb Velasquez, 18. Their search, however, did not prevent gunfire from erupting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, despite the mother’s urgent warnings.
According to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wall, the mother reached out to authorities after noticing weapons were gone from her home and that her car was missing.
At the time, he was dressed in camouflage and was accompanied by another person.
As they escalated their efforts, police utilized an automatic license plate reader to trace the car to a nearby shopping mall.
Wall mentioned that he also informed the local school, where at least one of the boys was enrolled, while continuing to question the mother about the situation.
Once a shooting report came in about two hours later, officers arrived on the scene within four minutes.
The two teenagers had already killed three individuals, one of whom was Amin Abdullah, a security guard who was also a father of eight.
In a subsequent discovery, the suspects were found deceased in their vehicle a few blocks away, having taken their own lives.
The body of one suspect was located next to a white BMW that had a gas canister with a specific sticker on it.
Officials indicated that the car contained anti-Muslim messages, and hate speech was inscribed on the weapon involved in the shooting.
Details from the investigation revealed writings expressing anti-Muslim sentiments were found in connection with the suspects.
It’s currently unclear which of the teenagers’ mothers first contacted law enforcement.
Clark was a wrestler at Madison High School, as noted on the school’s social media.
As the investigation continues, authorities are preparing to execute search warrants to explore the circumstances and motivations behind the shooting.
