Caleb Vazquez, one among two teenagers liable for the mass capturing on the Islamic Middle of San Diego, was on the autism spectrum and influenced by hateful rhetoric on-line, his household described in a heartfelt apology.
“Over the past a number of days, our household has been making an attempt to course of the horrific actions carried out
by our son in opposition to the Islamic Middle San Diego Group,” the 18-year-old’s household mentioned in a press release launched by legal professional Colin Rudolph.
“We wish to start by acknowledging that nothing we are saying or do might ever restore the injury his actions have precipitated. We’re fully heartbroken and devastated by what has occurred. We condemn these hateful and violent actions completely,” they continued.
The household talked about the three victims, Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nadir Awad, and thanked them for his or her bravery in stopping extra deaths throughout Monday’s assault.
Vazquez and 17-year-old Cain Clark stormed the mosque, opening fireplace and killing three Monday earlier than fleeing the scene in a white BMW. The teenager terrorists livestreamed their total assault.
On the encouragement of Vazquez, Clark, sitting within the driver’s seat of the automobile, shot Vazquez within the head twice with a pistol, killing him. Clark then turned the weapon on himself.
The household acknowledged the assault precipitated devastating and irreversible ache for the victims, their family members and the broader Muslim group, including that no apology might ever make up for the loss and trauma inflicted by Vazquez.
“We reject hatred, extremism, bigotry, and violence in each kind. We stand firmly in opposition to the ideology and actions that led to this tragedy. These actions don’t mirror the values we raised our household with or the beliefs we maintain in our hearts,” Vazquez’s household mentioned.
The Vazquez household added their son’s beliefs and actions are fully at odds with the values they raised him with, emphasizing their household’s various background and longstanding perception in acceptance, compassion and respect for folks of all cultures and religions.
“Our son was on the autism spectrum, and it’s painfully clear to us now that he struggled not solely
with accepting components of his personal identification but in addition grew to resent them,” they mentioned.
Vazquez and Clark launched a manifesto, obtained by The California Put up, earlier than the capturing the place they shared hateful imagery and messages — campaigning for a race battle. The weapons they used within the assault had been lined in racist messages, together with “Race Conflict Now.”
Additionally they wore a Black Solar image, which is related to Nazi Germany, sq. on his chest. Nazi SS commander Heinrich Himmler had the image inlaid into the ground of the Wewelsburg fort.
“We imagine this, mixed with publicity to hateful rhetoric, extremist content material, and propaganda unfold throughout components of the web, social media, and different on-line platforms, contributed to his descent into radicalized ideologies and violent beliefs. Whereas there isn’t a excuse for his actions, we’ve got come to acknowledge how harmful on-line areas are that normalize hatred,” the assertion continued.
The household mentioned they tried many instances to assist Vazquez by his “psychological instability,” although they admitted, “We are going to eternally dwell with the burden of questioning whether or not there was extra we might have finished to assist stop this mindless tragedy.”
“As dad and mom, we’re grieving in methods we by no means imagined doable. However our ache doesn’t examine to the struggling of the victims and their households. This second shouldn’t be about us. It’s concerning the harmless folks whose lives had been taken, the survivors whose lives have been eternally modified, and a grieving group making an attempt to heal from unimaginable trauma,” they added.
“We are able to solely pray that his actions and phrases don’t encourage or incite additional hatred or violence towards any group. They had been the actions of an immensely misplaced, troubled, and misguided soul, and we hope no different household or group ever has to endure this sort of tragedy once more,” the assertion concluded.
