The concerned mom of one of the teen San Diego mosque shooters had frantically alerted cops that her suicidal son had run away in camo and with some of her weapons — sparking a huge hunt in the hours before the bloodshed unfolded.
Police spent two hours scrambling to locate the suspects — identified as 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Velasquez — before gunshots rang out at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday.
The mother first called cops about 9:40 a.m., warning that her son was suicidal, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
Cain Clark, 17, has been identified as one of the alleged gunmen in Monday’s shooting at a San Diego mosque. Instagram/madison.warhawk.wrestling
A woman places flowers at a memorial outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Tuesday. Denis Poroy for CA PostThe situation only escalated when the mom later learned weapons were missing from the home, and her car was gone.
She told authorities her son had dressed in camouflage and was with an acquaintance at the time, which Wahl noted wasn’t “consistent with what we would typically see from somebody that is suicidal.”
Imam Taha Hassane embraces a man as other people hug outside the Islamic Centre on Tuesday morning. REUTERS
“That triggered a larger threat assessment picture,” he said.
As the search intensified, cops used automated license plate readers to track the car and went to a mall in the area.
Clark attended Madison High School and was on the school’s wrestling team. Facebook/madison.warhawk.wrestling
The body of a suspect and a gas container with an ”SS” sticker lie next to a white BMW. Getty Images
Amin Abdullah, a security guard, was killed in the Islamic Center shooting in San Diego on May 18, 2026. Facebook/AminAbdullahThey also alerted a school where at least one of the teens had been a student and continued interviewing the mother, Wahl said.
Officers were still interviewing the mother about places the teens might be when they received reports of the shooting, roughly two hours later.
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By the time cops responded within four minutes of being called, the teens had already gunned down three men, including hero security guard and father of eight Amin Abdullah.
The suspects were found in a vehicle after killing themselves a few blocks from the scene.
Anti-Islamic writings were found in the suspects’ vehicle, and “hate speech” was written on the firearms used in the shooting, sources told The Post.
Anti-Islamic writings were found in the suspects’ vehicle and “hate speech” was written on the firearms used in the shooting, a source told The Post. Anadolu via Getty Images
Hawaa Abdullah, daughter of security guard Amin Abdullah who was killed in the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, cries as she prays at. news conference on Tuesday. Denis Poroy for CA Poat
The terrifying moment small children evacuated from San Diego’s Islamic Center. FOX 5 San DiegoIt wasn’t immediately clear which of the teens’ moms first alerted cops.
Clark had attended Madison High School and was a standout wrestler, according to the school’s social media page.
The details emerged as authorities planned to execute search warrants related to the investigation on Tuesday as they piece together how and why the shooting unfolded.
