San Diego gunman idolized Nazis and mass shooters, police removed guns

If guns had already been taken from Caleb Vazquez’s Chula Vista home because of his fixation on Nazis and mass shooters, what failed after that? The answer matters far beyond one family, because the May 18 attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego left three men dead, ended with the two suspected gunmen dead by suicide, and exposed the limits of intervention once warning signs are already in motion.

In January 2025, Chula Vista police checked on Vazquez after being alerted to disturbing social media posts and learning there were guns in the family home. Court records and later reporting say his father voluntarily removed firearms from the house, with accounts differing on whether the number was a dozen or dozens. Family members later said they were communicating regularly with the teen’s school, had placed him in weekly therapy, and had sharply increased supervision. The record shows a household trying to respond, but it also shows how easily prevention can stop at the front door.

That effort did not keep the violence from reaching the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont. Authorities identified the suspected gunmen as Vazquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17. Three men were killed in the attack, and investigators said the two suspects later died by suicide. Officials said the pair had been radicalized online and left writings that appeared to reflect white supremacist and neo-Nazi beliefs.

Investigators were still trying to authenticate a document posted online that allegedly explained the attack, while treating the case as a possible hate crime. Vazquez had already drawn police attention because of suspicious behavior tied to Nazi idolization, and he had been served a gun violence restraining order last year. The case now raises a hard question for California’s red-flag system: a gun removal can interrupt immediate access, but it cannot by itself erase extremist fixation, online reinforcement, or the need for sustained monitoring.

The shock rippled through San Diego’s faith communities, where mosques and other houses of worship have long had to plan for violence they did not create. The Islamic Center had already used active-shooter drills to prepare students for the possibility of an attack, a grim sign of how often religious communities are forced into emergency readiness. The deaths of three men underscored the threat facing those institutions, and the deeper failure is clear: spotting danger is not the same as stopping it.