San Diego Mosque Shooter’s Disturbing Obsession Revealed
The shooter in the San Diego mosque incident, identified as Caleb Vasquez, had a fixation on a Dutch cartoon character described by an acquaintance and his manifesto as a “grounded racist.” Both Vasquez, 18, and his accomplice, Kane Clark, 17, connected through dark online communities that promote extreme ideologies, and their actions unfolded during a violent episode at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
In addition to neo-Nazi symbols found at the scene, Vasquez’s interests included an unexpected character named Maimie Shoppenboer from the canceled Dutch series Ongezelieg. This adult animated show, which translates to “Unfriendly,” aired from 2018 to 2022 and revolved around three adopted sisters.
Interestingly, Maimie is noted for her “patriotism toward the Netherlands,” which led her to adopt racist attitudes against Belgium, despite being a character from Japan who tries to distance herself from her heritage.
Social media accounts purportedly linked to Vasquez featured this high school girl as a profile picture. He also reposted clips from Ongezellig on his banned TikTok account. An anonymous online friend remarked that the show attracts a notably right-wing audience.
A lengthy 75-page manifesto attributed to Vasquez and Clark characterizes Maimie as a “deeply racist nationalist” and connects her views to influences from “Nazis and Chads who love the show.”
Reports indicate that about two months before the attack, Vasquez purchased a Mimie stuffed animal from Etsy. He also left a review accompanied by a photo of himself in camouflage with the doll. The seller noted that these fan-made stuffed animals are popular among fans of the series.
Vazquez’s family expressed their sorrow over the incident, highlighting that he was autistic and became influenced by extremist ideas encountered online. Their statement revealed their struggles with his identity, suggesting that his exposure to hateful content contributed to a troubling path.
Reports from online friends and screenshots suggested that Vasquez was part of a TikTok group chat discussing accelerationist and National Socialist views, often expressing anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic sentiments.
FBI officials informed the press that Vasquez and Clark exhibited indiscriminate hatred across various races and religions. A manifesto discovered post-incident purportedly covered expansive racial and religious topics.
Earlier in January 2025, law enforcement conducted a welfare check on Vasquez due to reports of suspicious behavior related to Nazi worship. They sought to confiscate firearms, but his parents had already surrendered them prior to the order.
On the day of the shooting, Kane’s mother reported that her son had fled with a gun. Disturbing footage of the incident captures Kane shooting Vasquez before taking his own life after three victims—Mansour Kaziha, Amin Abdullah, and Nadir Awad—were killed.
In response to the violence, Vasquez’s family expressed their profound grief while underscoring that their suffering cannot compare to that of the victims and their families. They emphasized the moment should focus on those whose lives were affected, rather than their own pain.
