Teen’s key role in deadly San Diego mosque shooting leads to murder charges in North Carolina, officials say. Here’s why

By Julianna Bragg, CNN

(CNN) — A teen in North Carolina who prosecutors say played a key role in the deadly San Diego mosque shooting — by livestreaming the attack and disseminating the shooters’ writings — is facing murder charges in her home state.

Under North Carolina’s aiding-and-abetting laws, which can hold someone criminally responsible for a crime even if they did not personally carry out the acts, 17-year-old Sarah Santiago faces three counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Santiago can be held responsible for the three killings because she assisted the shooters in carrying out the attack from behind the scenes, despite not being at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the site of the attacks.

“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,” Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill said in August.

Authorities say on May 18, Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, opened fire on San Diego’s largest mosque, killing beloved community members Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad — hailed as heroes for their actions thwarting further killings — before the gunmen died by suicide, according to law enforcement.

Santiago is accused of aiding and abetting the murders of the three men by “agreeing and planning prior to the attack” to livestream it, publicly distributing the recording and releasing a manifesto “purporting to justify the attack,” the indictment alleges.

Santiago has not entered a plea, her attorney Alan Doorasamy said Friday. Last month, he told CNN in an email that “at this time I can confirm that my client is innocent of all these charges.”

Ronald Wright, a criminal law professor at Wake Forest University, described the circumstances of Santiago’s case as highly “unusual” for North Carolina, as she faces prosecution on the opposite side of the country from California.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan told CNN that North Carolina was given priority to lead the prosecution because, unlike California law — which requires a judge to hold a “transfer hearing” to consider moving the case from youth to adult court — North Carolina law allows for a juvenile to be initially charged and prosecuted as an adult in certain circumstances, such as murder charges.

Santiago’s next hearing is scheduled for September 21, the first of what could be a lengthy series of court proceedings as the case moves forward.

Her attorney, Doorasamy, told CNN that, as of Thursday, the state had not provided him with discovery, adding he will file motions to compel discovery by September 21 if necessary.

Gunmen’s writings contained radicalized ideology

Before the attacks, prosecutors say Santiago bought and sent Vazquez a Sonnenrad patch, which the indictment alleges he wore during the shooting. A Sonnenrad is viewed as a neo-Nazi and white supremacist hate symbol.

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 attackers.

Clark’s mother called police officers after she found an alleged suicide note written by her son, who vanished with a man he met online she had never seen before — both dressed in camouflage, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. She also reported several weapons from the home were missing, the police chief said.

Vazquez had been in a mental health program up until the day before the shooting, a federal law enforcement official told CNN.

On the morning of the shooting, Vazquez’s mother received a call from employees at the facility, who said her son was missing, according to The Associated Press. Video footage recorded Vazquez as he left the facility at 8 p.m. the night before.

Law enforcement also filed a gun violence emergency protective order in 2025, after Vazquez was placed on a psychiatric hold, to seize firearms in his parents’ home amid concerns about the teenager’s “suspicious behavior idolizing Nazis and mass shooters,” court documents show.

Following the mosque attack, the shooters planned to commit mass murder at a Jewish temple and target African American students at a public high school, authorities said. But the attackers may have stopped because one of them was wounded by an armed security officer at the mosque, federal law enforcement officials told CNN.

What happens next?

Monday’s hearing is expected to be preliminary in nature, Wright said, though it’s unlikely that a significant amount of new information will be revealed, given that officials have already released the indictment and made previous statements.

Wright said some of the central questions for the jury would include whether prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Santiago’s actions aided and abetted the killings and that she intended to cause the death of another human being.

Under North Carolina’s aiding-and-abetting theory, prosecutors will need to prove not only that Santiago “knowingly advised, instigated, encouraged, procured, or aided the other person to commit” the murders, but also that her “actions or statements caused or contributed to the commission” of the murders by the shooters, the law says.

“If the jury believes she did something that helped and she had a purpose to cause the death of another human being through her friends who were going to pull the trigger, then that would be enough” to prove her guilt, he said.

Santiago’s defense is expected to challenge the prosecution’s arguments, including the question of whether North Carolina courts have jurisdiction over someone who allegedly helped with a crime but did not carry out any of the physical acts in California, Wright said.

In California, which also has a similar aiding-and-abetting law, prosecutors could also pursue charges against Santiago, Wright said, though it remains unclear whether they will do so while the North Carolina case proceeds.

Given the high visibility of the murder case, it could take months or even years for Santiago’s case to play out in state court, Wright said.

As Santiago’s case proceeds, officials in both states say they intend to continue pursuing potential avenues of accountability for those involved in the attack.

“We are keeping the families of these heroes up to date as to what is happening on all fronts,” Stephan said. “The San Diego District Attorney’s Office will not stop investigating this matter until all those who can be held liable for their actions are.”

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CNN’s Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.