A gas canister marked with a Nazi symbol was found at the scene of a deadly shooting at a mosque in San Diego, as authorities investigate the suspected hate crime.
The words “hate speech” were also written on one of the firearms used in the shooting and anti-Islamic writing was found in the suspects’ car, law enforcement officials said.
Three people, including a security guard, were killed during the attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday. The two teenage suspects were found dead in a car near the mosque with apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
A law enforcement told The Post the canister, which was marked with an “SS” sticker, and a shotgun were located where the gunmen’s bodies were discovered.
The bright red canister was pictured beside a BMW at the crime scene. On the side of the container, a jagged, white “SS” symbol imprinted on a black background can be seen.
The sticker appears to represent the Schutzstaffel, a paramilitary organization led by Heinrich Himmler in Nazi Germany. The Schutzstaffel was responsible for overseeing the Nazi regime’s concentration and extermination camps.
Law enforcement sources told CNN that the suspect had taken a firearm from their parents’ home, reportedly leaving behind a suicide note containing writings about “racial pride”.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl confirmed at a news conference that a note had been found and that it contained “generalised hate rhetoric and hate speech.”
However, it did not contain a specific threat to the mosque or other location or individual.
Wahl confirmed that the mother of one of the suspects reported her son as missing around two hours before the attack.
The mom said that her son had left home with several guns and her car. He had also left with a companion, with both being dressed in camouflage.
What we know about the suspects
According to CNN, one of the shooters was identified by a law enforcement source and dispatch audio as 17-year-old Cain Clark.
David and Deborah Clark, the 17-year-old’s grandparents, told the network they were “in shock” and that they were “very sorry for what happened.”
Clark attended school virtually and was on track to graduate, a spokesperson for the San Diego Unified School District told the network.
Spokesman James Canning said Cain had been enrolled in an online schooling program known as the iHigh Virtual Academy.
Since Madison High School was considered to be his neighborhood school, he was able to participate in campus activities and competed on the school’s wrestling team.
However, Clark did not participate in school activities this year, Canning said.
A former wrestling teammate, who asked to remain anonymous, told CNN that he remembered Clark as a homeschooled student who had been trying to make friends.
“He seemed like he was a good kid,” the former teammate said, noting he only knew Clark from wrestling practices and meets. “He didn’t seem like he would do something like that.”
The teammate added that he had never heard Clark expressing Islamophobic or racially motivated sentiments, or seen him do anything violent.
