Teen charged with murder in San Diego mosque shooting for allegedly agreeing to publish shooters’ writings

By Dianne Gallagher, Julianna Bragg, CNN

(CNN) — A North Carolina teenager has been indicted on murder charges in connection with the deadly mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego earlier this year, after authorities alleged she recorded the livestream of the attack and published the shooters’ writings.

A grand jury indicted a 17-year-old girl on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill said.

The indictments identified Sarah Santiago as the defendant.

“The law in North Carolina is clear: a person may be guilty of a crime, although he or she personally does not do any of the acts necessary to constitute the crime,” O’Neill said during a news conference Monday afternoon.

CNN has sought comment from Santiago’s attorney.

Three people were killed when Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vasquez, 18, attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18, 2026, before dying by suicide, according to law enforcement.

Santiago aided and abetted the murders of Amin Abdullah, Nadir Awad and Mansour Kaziha by “agreeing and planning prior to the attack” to livestream it, publicly distribute the recording and release a manifesto “purporting to justify the attack,” according to the indictment. Prosecutors allege she carried out those acts.

Before the attacks, Santiago bought and sent Vasquez a Sonnenrad patch to wear, “which Vasquez did in fact wear” during the attack, the indictment alleges.

A Sonnenrad is viewed as a neo-Nazi and white supremacist hate symbol.

“Too often, in this age of technology, people attempt to disappear behind their keyboards and their screens,” said Reid Davis, the special agent in charge of the North Carolina FBI office. “If you put lives at risk, the entire weight of the federal, state, and local government, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors will come to bring justice.”

O’Neill said authorities were unsure what Santiago was capable of and “the thought of her going back to school” posed “too great a risk” to wait for a grand jury. She was arrested last week and indicted Monday by the grand jury.

Authorities believe the shooters “exchanged radicalized ideology,” some of which was in the “manifesto” police found that covered “a wide aspect of races and religions.” Hate speech was also found scrawled on one of the weapons used in the attack, and a suicide note contained writings about racial pride, officials said.

More than 30 guns, including numerous pistols, rifles and shotguns, a crossbow, tactical gear, ammunition and electronics, were found by authorities while executing three search warrants at residences associated with the suspects.

Prior to the shooting, the Islamic Center had bolstered its security after receiving vitriolic messages and worrying threats. It erected a fence, installed bulletproof windows and held regular active shooter drills at its school, like many other religious institutions in America.

Officials praised the three victims for their heroic actions before they were killed by the shooters.

Abdullah, the security guard who died defending the mosque, began engaging the shooters with gunfire before they returned fire. Kaziha and Awad were killed as they tried to turn attention away from the mosque and into the parking lot, authorities said.

The suspects intended to hit additional targets the day of the mosque shooting but may have stopped because one of them was wounded by an armed security officer at the mosque, federal law enforcement officials told CNN.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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