San Diego Mosque Shooters' Apparent Manifestos Reveal Anti-Muslim Extremism, Antisemitism, and Broader Extremist Ideology

The two teenagers who attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18, 2026, killing three people, expressed sweeping hatred for Muslims, Jews, Black people, Hispanic people, and the LGBTQ+ community, drew inspiration from some of the most notorious mass killers in recent history, and positioned their attack as a tribute to the 2019 white supremacist Christchurch killer. 

A review by the ADL Center on Extremism of the killers’ apparent respective manifestos reveals adherence to several ideologies, most prominently white supremacist accelerationism and inceldom, as well as virulent Islamophobia and antisemitism. Their writings, which have been shared on gore sites like WatchPeopleDie (WPD), also illustrate general misanthropy and an immersion in online nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) ecosystems. 

Caleb Vazquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17, took their own lives in a nearby vehicle following the attack. Armed with several weapons covered in white supremacist symbols and phrases, the pair allegedly livestreamed the deadly assault to a messaging platform. 

The document they appear to have left behind, containing both their manifestos, was titled “The New Crusade: Sons of Tarrant,” a reference to Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people and injured 89 more in attacks on a mosque and an Islamic center in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. Tarrant’s rampage has inspired numerous copycats.

White Supremacist Accelerationism

In their alleged manifestos, the shooters primarily align themselves with accelerationism, an ideology within some segments of the white supremacist movement that promotes violent actions as a means to accelerate the perceived inevitable collapse of society, allowing followers to establish a white ethno-state in the aftermath.

The 18-year-old shooter calls himself “an Accelerationist [sic],” writing, “I believe that accelerating towards the destruction of our current political system and towards an all-out race war for the purpose of a societal collapse is the only real way forward…” Similarly, the 17-year-old, labeling himself a “Christian Ecofascist [sic] Accelerationist [sic],” claims that “the only solution to the current state of the world is to accelerate towards the complete and utter collapse of society” and that “the only way to the liberation of the white race is through violence, sabotage, and revolution.”

Both shooters make direct references to the now-defunct accelerationist group Atomwaffen Division. One of the shooters claims he “did [the shooting] for [the accelerationist groups] Atomwaffen Division, Terrorgram” and “The Base,” and the other’s alleged manifesto opens with an image of a Sonnenrad with the Atomwaffen logo in the center. Both also cite Atomwaffen founder Brandon Russell as inspiration for their attack.  

The pair also make several literature references popular among accelerationists, namely William Pierce’s The Turner Diaries and James Mason’s Siege, with one shooter writing that these books, “should be read almost biblically by all soldiers of the white race.”

They cite dozens of white supremacist mass killers as inspiration for their attack in San Diego, directly quoting at least five accelerationist mass killers, including Tarrant, the 2015 Charleston church shooter, the 2022 Buffalo supermarket attacker, and 2019 Poway Chabad shooter. In the introduction to his alleged manifesto, the 18-year-old shooter shares “some words from a few of [his] heroes,” quoting sections of the killers’ manifestos, before writing, “these feelings they felt are the same I feel now and their words truly spoke to me… So now I believe that it is my turn, my turn with many before me and many more to come, to fight back.”  

Following in the footsteps of Tarrant, both alleged shooters suggest a primary goal for their deadly assault was motivating further copycat attacks. Their manifestos envision their shooting as jumpstarting a “crusade,” and they articulate calls to action and instructions for others to commit similar acts of violence. One of them encourages others to join a decentralized “Sons of Tarrant” movement by disseminating misanthropic “propaganda” like the livestream footage, manifesto, and fandom-style edits of the shooters and like-minded mass killers.

The alleged manifestos are rife with neo-Nazi imagery, including the Sonnenrad, Celtic cross, white supremacist variations of the kolovrat and swastikas. Both explicitly identify themselves with National Socialism (Nazism).

Antisemitism

Both shooters express virulent antisemitic views in their manifestos, making clear that they believe Jews have overwhelming power in U.S. politics and that, consequently, only violence can solve their perceived problems. Following the introduction, the first eight pages of the 18-year-old's alleged manifesto focused on framing Jews as “the universal enemy.” He claims that all societal and global problems “can be traced back to… one group, the jews [sic].”  

Similarly, the 17-year-old writes, “every problem in the modern world can be connected to the Jews.” He frames antisemitism as central to his endorsement of accelerationism, claiming, “without the collapse of society, the kikes will be able to gain control, and there is zero doubt about that in my mind.” He also claims that “the worst and most deplorable religions are judaism [sic] and satanism [sic], which are the same thing.”

Both shooters also appear to venerate the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue killer. One of them lists him under his primary “heroes and inspirations,” writing, “…he is too often forgotten especially with how big an impact he made being the deadliest attack against Jews in the US.” Likewise, the other shooter also claims to have been inspired by the Tree of Life killer, also quoting his infamous Gab post that read, “screw your optics, I'm going in.”  

They also cite several other antisemitic mass killers, like the 2019 Halle, Germany, synagogue attacker, as inspiration. In their separate suggested reading lists, both include Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and Henry Ford’s The International Jew. One of them also includes The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, a debunked antisemitic hoax text.

Islamophobia

As evidenced by their attack on an Islamic center, both shooters harbored extreme anti-Muslim sentiments. Their manifestos heavily reference the Great Replacement, the belief that white people are being replaced in their countries by non-white immigrants from Africa and the Middle East, and the end result will be the extinction of the white race. Like other accelerationist mass shooters before them, namely Tarrant, both shooters refer to Muslim people as “invaders.”

The 18-year-old shooter claims to “hate the religion of Islam itself” and is primarily concerned with “seeing them here, invading my country.” He also claims that the religion is “in every way incompatible and hostile to western [sic] countries… morals and values…”

The younger shooter claims that Muslim people, “along with the kikes, are the scum of the earth [sic]” and “must be isolated and exterminated.” Both frame Muslim people, particularly those from the Middle East, as existential threats to white people in the United States.

(Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

Mosque members embrace in the parking lot of 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.

Both shooters claimed that Muslim people and Black people are incapable of organizing themselves and that they are controlled by Jews. One shooter refers to Muslim people and Black people as “bioweapons of the kikes.”

Anti-Black Racism

Between the two manifestos, the pair uses the n-word at least 32 times.

The 17-year-old shooter writes that “While the focus of this letter/manifesto is placed on the kikes and muslims [sic], we do have to talk about [Black people], because even if we get rid of the root, the poison is still here.” He goes on to claim that “killing the n****rs is an overall benefit to this world” and claims that Black people “have the lowest IQ of all races, they are literal subhumans…”  

The other shooter also has a section in his manifesto dedicated to anti-Black hate, emphasizing his belief that Black people “have significantly lower IQs than whites.” He attacks Black culture, claiming that “n****r culture is extremely infectious and destructive .... Of course like nearly everything else degenerate it is promoted by Jews to not only the blacks themselves but also the other races as well.”

Inceldom and Hatred of Women

The pair appear to have been further inspired and radicalized by the incel community. Both shooters explicitly identify as incels and misogynists, with the 18-year-old explaining that he had been active in online incel forums since 2022. Their manifestos contain tirades villainizing and decrying women as "the most evil creature[s] in this world,” behind only Jews. Both manifestos link their misogynistic attitudes to a desire to take revenge by “destroying” the system.  

In particular, both shooters venerate the incel mass killer Elliot Rodger, who killed six people and injured a further 14 in a 2014 attack. The 17-year-old shooter quotes Rodger’s manifesto, writing, “I have lived such an unnatural life, devoid of love, sex, and pleasure.” He claims that romantic and sexual frustrations contributed to depressive thoughts and suicidal ideation. Similarly, the other shooter lists Rodger as one of his “heroes,” and refers to him as “Saint Elliot.” He also repeatedly refers to women and girls as “foids,” a common term in incel spaces that is a contraction of “female” and “humanoid.”

Anti-LGBTQ+ Sentiments

Both San Diego attackers also dedicate sections of their manifestos to railing against the LGBTQ+ community, and transgender people, in particular. They both perpetuate false and hateful claims that LGBTQ+ people are pedophiles. The 18-year-old shooter claims that being a member of the LGBTQ+ community constitutes being a “traitor to your race,” and blames gay people for declining white birthrates. To non-white gay people, he writes, “I could give less a shit. The rope awaits no matter who you decide to bum it with.”  

He blames “race mixing, the porn industry, and LGBT/transgenderism” on Jews, who he claims are spreading “degeneracy.” He also attacks transgender people as “deranged” and “mentally ill,” encouraging them to commit suicide. Similarly, the other shooter asserts that all LGBTQ+ people are “mentally ill, crossdressing f****ts” and “deserve to be hung or forced into a labor camp for that.”

Nihilistic Violent Extremism (NVE) and the Mass Killer Ecosystem

Misanthropic beliefs and general hatred for humanity are explicitly outlined in both alleged manifestos. The respective titles illustrate this: “MisanthropistCEL,” and “Death to the World.” Both killers claim that mass murder is the only viable solution for their hatred of others.

They issue numerous references to previous non-white supremacist mass murders, like the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter, suggesting that these hateful beliefs can be viewed as part of the broader ecosystem of nihilistic violent extremism (NVE), and by extension, the True Crime Community (TCC), an online subculture whose adherents have a deep fascination with mass murder, often to the point of glorification.  

The 17-year-old’s manifesto describes his “interest” in “true crime,” a potential TCC dog whistle. Like nihilist violent extremists, the pair makes several references to memes, non-extremist mass killings, and fandom-style behavior common in the TCC.

The 18-year-old quotes a large section of the manifesto of the 2025 Antioch High School shooter Solomon Henderson, a Black teenager, naming him among his “heroes and inspirations.” Omar Mateen, the Islamist mass shooter who killed 49 people in an attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL, in 2016, is also mentioned as the “only Muslim I like along with maybe the Bondi beach [sic] shooter” because “he killed a shit ton of f****ts…” The Bondi Beach mention is a reference to the December 2025 attack in Sydney, Australia, where at least 15 people were killed when a pair of father and son terrorists opened fire on a crowd of Jews gathered for a Hanukkah event.

In their manifestos, both shooters reference the 1999 Columbine school massacre. One shooter suggested that the attire the pair would wear during the attack was inspired by the Columbine killings, highlighting the perennial legacy of the shooting. The shooter also considers the Columbine attackers, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, among his heroes.