San Diego Shooting Suspect’s Family Says Teen Was Autistic And Radicalized By Online Hate

The family of Caleb Vazquez, 1 of nan 2 suspects successful the Islamic Center of San Diego shooting, person said nan teen was autistic and had been radicalized by online hate.

Mansour Kaziha, Nadir Awad, and Amin Abdullah were killed successful nan incident Monday, which is being investigated by nan FBI arsenic a dislike crime.

The suspects’ bodies were recovered successful a conveyance a fewer blocks from nan mosque, apparently having taken their ain lives.

“Over nan past respective days, our family has been trying to process nan horrific actions carried retired by our boy against nan Islamic Center San Diego Community,” 18 year-old Vazquez’s family said successful a connection released by their lawyer Colin Rudolph.

“We want to statesman by acknowledging that thing we opportunity aliases do could ever repair nan harm his actions person caused,” nan connection continued.

“We are wholly heartbroken and devastated by what has happened. We condemn these hateful and convulsive actions entirely.

“We cull hatred, extremism, bigotry, and unit successful each form. We guidelines firmly against nan ideology and actions that led to this tragedy. These actions do not bespeak nan values we raised our family pinch aliases nan beliefs we clasp successful our hearts.”

Police recovered anti-Islamic writings and a gas canister base a Nazi SS sticker from nan suspects’ vehicle, arsenic good arsenic weapons inscribed pinch racist messages, 1 of which read: “Race War Now.”

“Our boy was connected nan autism spectrum, and it is painfully clear to america now that he struggled not only pinch accepting parts of his ain personality but besides grew to resent them,” nan family’s connection continued.

“We judge this, mixed pinch vulnerability to hateful rhetoric, extremist content, and propaganda dispersed crossed parts of nan internet, societal media, and different online platforms, contributed to his descent into radicalized ideologies and convulsive beliefs.

“While location is nary excuse for his actions, we person travel to admit really vulnerable online spaces are that normalize hatred.”

The Vazquez family said they had made repeated attempts to thief their boy done his “mental instability” but admitted: “We will everlastingly unrecorded pinch nan load of wondering whether location was much we could person done to thief forestall this senseless tragedy.

“As parents, we are grieving successful ways we ne'er imagined possible. But our symptom does not comparison to nan suffering of nan victims and their families.

“This infinitesimal is not astir us. It is astir nan guiltless group whose lives were taken, nan survivors whose lives person been everlastingly changed, and a grieving organization trying to heal from unimaginable trauma.

“We tin only believe that his actions and words do not animate aliases incite further hatred aliases unit toward immoderate community.

“They were nan actions of an immensely lost, troubled, and misguided soul, and we dream nary different family aliases organization ever has to strengthen this benignant of calamity again.”

The 3 victims were honored astatine a dream work astatine Snapdragon Stadium connected nan San Diego State University Mission Valley Campus Thursday, attended by hundreds of members of nan section Muslim community.

They person been praised by nan mosque arsenic “martyred heroes” who mislaid their lives “protecting our children” and will beryllium laid to rest, broadside by side, astatine nan La Vista Memorial Park successful National City.