The attackers who killed three individuals Monday at a San Diego mosque shared a stay video of the capturing in addition to a prolonged written doc citing racist, Islamophobic and antisemitic ideology.
The graphic video, which NCS reviewed, seems to seize the attackers firing weapons from contained in the mosque whereas displaying Nazi and white supremacist imagery on their weapons and clothes. Another portion of the video seems to indicate one gunman capturing the opposite inside a automotive after which capturing himself.
One attacker was recognized by authorities as 17-year-old Cain Clark; the opposite, an 18-year-old male, has not but been publicly recognized.
The video and a 75-page hate-filled screed apparently written by the gunmen have been obtained by researchers on the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which research extremism, and supplied to NCS. A regulation enforcement supply with data of the case, who requested anonymity to debate an ongoing investigation, confirmed to NCS that the video is believed to be legit and that investigators are reviewing the writings.
At a information convention, Mark Remily, the particular agent in cost of the FBI San Diego workplace, stated investigators had recovered a written “manifesto” and have been analyzing it. It’s not clear whether or not the doc is similar because the one reviewed by NCS.
The ISD researchers instructed NCS they believed the doc is legit as a result of the content material strains up with what’s proven within the livestream video and it references usernames matching social media accounts that posted related ideology earlier than the capturing.
One clip reviewed by NCS from the livestream video reveals the gunmen within the parking zone of the Islamic Center of San Diego, the area’s largest mosque. They are seen coming into the constructing’s entrance doorways holding rifles and at the very least one pistol.
At least one of the boys then seems to fireplace his weapon by way of the constructing’s doorways to the outside of the Islamic heart. They stroll round contained in the constructing, whereas one appears to regulate his rifle. NCS matched particulars within the video to the Islamic heart, together with the doorway and inside.
The video reveals them strolling outdoors, the place one fires a pistol. The video additionally reveals an obvious sufferer mendacity on the bottom in a pool of blood. The clip ends as the 2 gunmen enter a car.
A second clip begins later and seems to indicate the boys driving in a automotive.
The passenger data the video as a gun is fired by way of the automotive window. The passenger says one thing on to the digital camera, though the video lacks any audio.
The driver pulls the automotive over, after which apparently fires on the passenger. The driver then shoots himself within the head.
NCS geolocated the ultimate second of the video to a neighborhood simply south of the mosque the place police recovered the car and the place the gunmen have been discovered lifeless.
The weapons seen within the video are black with hand-written white lettering and symbols drawn on them. The writing contains numerical codes and abbreviations that reference Nazism, in addition to messages about previous mass shootings.
The ideologies referenced by these symbols are expressed extra explicitly within the doc apparently signed by the 2 gunmen.
The doc contains two separate statements attributed to every gunman expressing help for white supremacist ideology, together with particularly referencing the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy idea that white populations are intentionally being changed. They additionally describe admiration for earlier mass shooters, and repeatedly endorse nihilistic and antisemitic concepts.
In the assertion attributed to Clark, the creator writes extensively about his hatred for non-white and non-Christian cultures. The message attributed to the opposite gunman lauds Adolf Hitler as a hero.
That assertion contains descriptions of utilizing satellite tv for pc imagery and Google Street View to review the format of areas focused by the gunmen, including that in addition they scouted targets in individual.
The authors additionally reference varied earlier mass shooters by identify, together with expressing admiration for the person who killed 51 individuals at a mosque and Islamic heart in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019, and in addition livestreamed his assault.
The writing attributed to the 18-year-old gunman additionally cites the affect of “incel” tradition on-line and refers back to the creator’s earlier psychological well being points. In the assertion attributed to Clark, the creator writes that he didn’t intend to outlive the assault and predicts that he wouldn’t really feel any regret.
Some iconography displayed by the gunmen appears to match that utilized by different mass shooters lately whom specialists have described as “nihilistic violent extremists” – together with writing the identify of one other mass killer and hateful statements on their weapons.
Federal authorities have been warning of heightened danger of assaults by people inside or impressed by nihilistic violent extremist teams, some of which promote white supremacy however are outlined much less by coherent ideology and extra by needs to destroy society. A Department of Homeland Security memo from October acknowledged that such people might more and more search to livestream acts of violence to achieve consideration on-line.
Cody Zoschak, a senior analyst at ISD, stated that the writings appeared to distinguish the teenager gunmen from different nihilistic extremists as a result of of their specific endorsement of neo-Nazi rhetoric.
“There’s pretty strong indications that these folks were neo-Nazis, specifically militant accelerationists,” Zoschak stated. “They display an ideological knowledge that shows some engagement in these circles for an extended period of time.”
NCS’s Scott Glover contributed to this report.