A North Carolina teenager has been charged with murder by aiding and abetting in connection with a deadly shooting at an Islamic Centre in San Diego that claimed three lives in May, according to prosecutors.
The 17-year-old girl, whose name has not been released, was arrested last week and indicted Monday by a grand jury in Forsyth County. Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill announced the charges at a news conference, noting the timing of her arrest just as the school year was beginning.
"The thought of her going back to school or with the weekend approaching, holy days approaching, we didn't know what she was capable of," O'Neill said.
According to authorities, the teenager recorded a livestream of the May 18 attack using GoPro helmets worn by the two gunmen and subsequently distributed the attackers' white supremacist manifestos online. Under North Carolina law, individuals who aid and abet another person in committing a crime face the same criminal liability as if they had personally committed the acts themselves.
Details of the Attack
Two shooters, identified as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, stormed the Islamic Centre of San Diego on May 18. The attack left three men dead: security guard Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nader Awad. The gunmen took their own lives in a vehicle shortly after the incident.
A security guard at the centre engaged the attackers in gunfire, driving them back outside and initiating a lockdown that protected approximately 140 children inside the building.
The gunmen had allegedly planned to continue their violence beyond the mosque, with prosecutors stating they intended to target a local Jewish temple and a predominantly African American high school in the area.
Extremist Ideology and Planning
Documents left behind by the attackers contained antisemitic language, calls for violent race war, and references to "accelerationism," a violent strand of white supremacist ideology advocating societal destruction. The manifestos cited the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand as an ideological model.
Authorities discovered the two gunmen had stockpiled 30 firearms and a crossbow, all taken from Clark's parents.
The San Diego County District Attorney's Office stated Monday that they were "fully aware" of the prosecution in North Carolina and expressed gratitude for the investigative efforts.
This article is based on reporting from CBS News and Associated Press.