FILE-Police tape is pictured outside The Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD) on May 19, 2026 in San Diego, California. Three people were killed and two suspects are dead after a shooting at San Diego's largest mosque. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Im …
A teenage girl who recorded a livestream of a shooting that killed three people at a San Diego mosque has been charged with murder by aiding and abetting, The Associated Press reported, citing a district attorney.
Court records obtained by the AP identified the girl as Sarah L. Santiago, 17, who was arrested last week. A grand jury indicted Santiago on three counts of murder and one count of conspiracy.
What happened in the California mosque shooting?
The backstory:
Sarah L. Santiago agreed before the shooting occurred that she would record the livestream as the shooters filmed it, disseminate the recording, and release a document written by the attackers.
Santiago also allegedly bought a patch with a white-supremacist symbol and sent it to one of the shooters to wear during the attack, the AP noted, referencing an indictment.
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On May 18, 2026, Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, stormed the Islamic Center before being driven back outside by a security guard who exchanged gunfire with them as he started a lockdown, helping to protect 140 children who were nearby.
According to the AP, Clark and Vazquez killed the guard, Amin Abdullah, and two other men before taking their own lives in a car.
The shooters left behind writings full of vitriol targeting a range of individuals and referenced the shooter who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, as one of the models for their violence.
Clark and Vazquez also planned attacks on two other targets: a Jewish temple and a mostly Black high school, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill told the AP. O’Neill credited the guard and other victims at the mosque with having saved countless lives.
The AP obtained a written statement from the Vazquez family who said Caleb Vazquez was on the autism spectrum and started to resent parts of his identity. The family added that they believed that, combined with exposure to hateful rhetoric online, contributed to his radicalization.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, which cites court documents, an indictment, and a district attorney with knowledge of the case. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.