San Diego shooter’s neighbor bursts into tears as she recalls ‘nice’ green-haired teenager who murdered three at Islamic center: Live updates
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A neighbor of one of the suspected San Diego mosque shooters broke down while she described the ‘green-haired’ teen who authorities say killed three people in an alleged hate crime.
The suspects, identified by police as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, were reported missing two hours before they opened fire outside the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, police said.
Clark’s elderly neighbor, Marne Celaya, became distraught while describing the teen she said she had known since his mother was pregnant with him.
‘We’ve seen him with green hair and blue hair, and we didn’t talk much. But then, as I said, he helped us bring in groceries, and he’d wave at us,’ she said.
Police are investigating the shooting as a hate crime after the teenagers were found with self-inflicted gunshot wounds outside the mosque.
Images from the scene showed a red gasoline canister with a sticker resembling a Nazi SS logo, as a shotgun lay nearby.
Authorities had already been on the lookout for the two youths, after one of their mothers called officers to report that her son had run away with ‘several of her weapons’ and her vehicle, Chief Scott Wahl said.
Investigators plan to execute search warrants related to the investigation on Tuesday as they piece together how and why the shooting unfolded.
Follow along for the latest updates…
Neighbor of San Diego shooter breaks down as she reveals details from killer’s childhood
Neighbors of the 17-year-old San Diego mosque shooting suspect, Cain Clark, recalled their interactions with him and his family over the years.
‘We were here when they moved in. They had, the older son was, you know, small. And then she was pregnant and had the younger one, which I understand must be the one that there might be involved,’ Marne Celaya told the Associated Press.
She described Clark as a quiet but polite kid.
‘He’s helped us bring in our groceries. They all have. They got me a cake when I turned 80. You know, we waved, say hi. They had a fire in their house. We got them flowers,’ Celaya added.
‘We’ve seen him with green hair and blue hair, and we didn’t talk much. But then, as I said, he helped us bring in groceries, and he’d wave at us.’
San Diego mosque has controversial history
The San Diego mosque where two teenage gunmen opened fire and killed three people reportedly has a controversial history connected to the 9/11 terror attacks.
Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, two of the hijackers who later flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, lived in San Diego, California, from early 2000 through late 2000, according to the Justice Department.
The two men allegedly prayed at the Islamic Center of San Diego and found an apartment through advertisements at the mosque, the New York Post reported.
Mourners gather outside Islamic Center of San Diego
Mourners gathered outside the Islamic Center of San Diego on Tuesday as a memorial grows for the three people killed during the mosque shooting.
Hero security guard greeted community members with a smile, video shows
Video posted by CAIR San Diego showed hero security guard Amin Abdullah greeting members of the mosque with a smile.
‘Our beloved brother and martyr Amin Abdullah, who always had a smile on his face, warmly greeting anyone and everyone who entered the masjid,’ CAIR San Diego wrote on Instagram.
San Diego Islamic Center Imam calls shooting ‘extremely outrageous’
Imam Taha Hassane of the San Diego Islamic Center told reporters Monday’s shooting was ‘extremely outrageous.’
‘I know it’s a time of sorrow, a time of sadness. We have never experienced a tragedy like this before. And at this moment all I can say is sending our prayers and standing in solidarity with all the families in our community here,’ he said.
‘The other mosques and all the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected. It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.’
Who were San Diego mosque shooters Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez?
The two teenagers, who dressed themselves in camouflage and attacked a mosque in San Diego, have been identified as Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez.
Clark, 17, and Vazquez, 18, left home, armed with a 9mm handgun, a shotgun and a mini 14 – which had been stolen from Clark’s mother’s home – and descended onto the Islamic Center of San Diego at around 11.40am.
The horrific attack left three people dead outside of the place of worship, which also serves as a school, before the pair turned the guns on themselves.
Islamic Center of San Diego closed until further notice
The Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD) is closed until further notice, according to its website.
ICSD, which also houses a school, is the largest mosque in San Diego County and typically holds five daily prayers.
San Diego mosque shooter Cain Clark’s disturbing suicide note revealed
San Diego mosque shooter Cain Clark, 17, left a hate-filled suicide note ‘about racial pride’ before opening fire and killing three people, authorities say.
Police sources said that when officers searched Clark’s home around two miles from the mosque, they also discovered a suicide note ‘writing about racial pride.’
A BMW X1 that the two shooters died in was photographed with a gas can emblazoned with a Nazi SS sticker on its side.
Road closures around Islamic Center of San Diego lifted
Police announced that road closures around the Islamic Center of San Diego have been lifted on Tuesday morning.
California congressional candidate says he has known one of the mosque shooting victims since childhood
California congressional candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar told CNN he has known one of the Islamic Center of San Diego shooting victims since he was six years old.
Nine-year-old student recalls seeing ‘bad stuff’ during mosque shooting
Nine-year-old Odai Shanah recalled seeing ‘bad stuff’ when two gunman opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego where he attended school on Monday.
‘We saw a bunch of bad stuff, people laying down and yeah, bad stuff,’ Shanah told Reuters.
‘My legs were shaking and my hands and my head were like hurting a lot. I felt like a rock.’
He described being evacuated as, ‘They told us to put our hands up and form a big line.’
Resurfaced video shows hero security discussing his favorite food
A resurfaced video shows hero security guard Amin Abdullah discussing his love of hamburgers at an Eid festival last year.
Abdullah told the social media page that he was born and raised in San Diego and that his favorite food is halal hamburgers.
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