A North Carolina teenager identified in court records as Sarah L. Santiago has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of conspiracy in connection with a shooting at a San Diego mosque. Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill announced the charges at a news conference, stating that Santiago was arrested the previous week and indicted by a grand jury.
According to the indictment, Santiago allegedly agreed in advance to record a livestream of the attack, distribute the recording, and publish a document written by the attackers. She is also accused of purchasing a white-supremacist patch and sending it to one of the gunmen to wear during the incident. Under North Carolina law, aiding-and-abetting charges carry the same penalties as if the defendant had committed the attack directly. Santiago is being charged as an adult and held without bond. Her attorney stated that she maintains her innocence and indicated he had not yet received evidence from law enforcement.
The shooting occurred at the Islamic Center when two gunmen, identified as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, opened fire. A security guard, Amin Abdullah, engaged the attackers and initiated a lockdown that protected approximately 140 children in the building. Three people were killed—the security guard and two other men—before the gunmen took their own lives in a nearby vehicle. The district attorney noted that three people initially watched the livestream, though it remained unclear whether investigators had identified all viewers or identified the platforms used for recording and distribution.
Clark and Vazquez left behind writings expressing white-supremacist ideology and referencing the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings as inspiration. Authorities stated the pair had planned subsequent attacks on a Jewish temple and Black students at a high school. The attackers’ writings contained hateful rhetoric directed at multiple groups. Vazquez’s family released a statement indicating he was on the autism spectrum and had been exposed to hateful content online, which they believed contributed to his radicalization.
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