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

Zoë Meyers/AFP/Getty Images

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.

Winston Salem Police Department

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.

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.

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.”

CNN’s Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.

Zoë Meyers/法新社/盖蒂图片社

北卡罗来纳州一名少女被检察官指控在圣地亚哥清真寺枪击案中扮演了关键角色——她直播了袭击过程并传播了枪手的文字——目前她正面临家乡的谋杀指控。

根据北卡罗来纳州的教唆和协助犯罪法，即使某人没有亲自实施犯罪行为，也可以追究其刑事责任，17 岁的 Sarah Santiago 面临三项一级谋杀罪和一项共谋一级谋杀罪的指控。

检察官表示，圣地亚哥应对这三起谋杀案负责，因为她虽然不在袭击地点圣地亚哥伊斯兰中心，但却在幕后协助枪手实施了袭击。

“北卡罗来纳州的法律很明确：即使一个人没有亲自实施构成犯罪的任何必要行为，他/她也可能犯有该罪行，”福赛斯县地方检察官吉姆·奥尼尔在 8 月份表示。

当局称，5月18日，17岁的凯恩·克拉克和18岁的卡莱布·瓦兹奎兹向圣地亚哥最大的清真寺开枪，杀害了深受爱戴的社区成员阿明·阿卜杜拉、曼苏尔·卡齐哈和纳迪尔·阿瓦德——他们因阻止进一步杀戮而被誉为英雄——之后，两名枪手自杀身亡。

起诉书称，圣地亚哥被控协助和教唆谋杀三名男子，他“在袭击发生前同意并计划”直播袭击过程，公开传播录像，并发布一份“旨在为袭击辩护”的宣言。

圣地亚哥尚未认罪，她的律师艾伦·杜拉萨米周五表示。上个月，他曾通过电子邮件告诉CNN，“目前我可以确认，我的当事人对所有指控均不认罪。”

维克森林大学刑法教授罗纳德·赖特表示，圣地亚哥的案件情况对于北卡罗来纳州来说非常“不寻常”，因为她面临的审判地点与加利福尼亚州位于同一州的另一端。

圣地亚哥县地方检察官萨默·斯蒂芬告诉 CNN，之所以优先由北卡罗来纳州主导此案的起诉，是因为与加利福尼亚州法律（该法律要求法官举行“移送听证会”以考虑将案件从青少年法庭移送至成人法庭）不同，北卡罗来纳州法律允许在某些情况下（例如谋杀指控）对未成年人进行初步指控和审判，并将其作为成年人进行审判。

温斯顿-塞勒姆警察局

圣地亚哥的下一次听证会定于 9 月 21 日举行，这可能是案件进展过程中一系列漫长诉讼程序的开始。

她的律师杜拉萨米告诉 CNN，截至周四，州政府尚未向他提供证据，并补充说，如有必要，他将在 9 月 21 日之前提交强制披露证据的动议。

检方称，袭击发生前，圣地亚哥购买并寄给瓦兹奎兹一枚“太阳骑士”（Sonnenrad）徽章，起诉书指控瓦兹奎兹在枪击案中佩戴了该徽章。“太阳骑士”徽章被视为新纳粹和白人至上主义的仇恨标志。

当局认为枪手们“交流了激进思想”，其中一些内容体现在警方发现的“宣言”中，该宣言涵盖了“种族和宗教的广泛方面”。官员称，在其中一件作案武器上也发现了仇恨言论，而一份遗书中则包含了有关种族自豪感的文字。

执法部门在与袭击者有关的住所执行三份搜查令时，发现了 30 多支枪支，包括多支手枪、步枪和霰弹枪、一把弩、战术装备、弹药和电子产品。

据圣地亚哥警察局长斯科特·沃尔称，克拉克的母亲在发现儿子留下的疑似遗书后报警。克拉克与一名她从未见过的、在网上认识的男子一同失踪，两人都身穿迷彩服。沃尔局长还表示，克拉克的母亲报告说，家中多件武器不翼而飞。

一名联邦执法官员告诉 CNN，瓦兹奎兹在枪击事件发生的前一天还在接受心理健康治疗。

据美联社报道，枪击案发生当天早上，瓦兹奎兹的母亲接到该机构员工的电话，称她的儿子失踪了。监控录像显示，瓦兹奎兹在前一天晚上8点离开了该机构。

法庭文件显示，在瓦兹奎兹被送往精神病院接受治疗后，执法部门于 2025 年申请了枪支暴力紧急保护令，以查封其父母家中的枪支，原因是担心这名青少年“有崇拜纳粹和大规模枪击案凶手的可疑行为”。

据当局称，清真寺袭击事件发生后，枪手计划在犹太教堂实施大规模屠杀，并袭击一所公立高中的非裔美国学生。但联邦执法官员告诉CNN，袭击者可能因为其中一人在清真寺被一名持枪保安人员击伤而停止了行动。

赖特表示，周一的听证会预计将是初步性质的，但鉴于官员们已经公布了起诉书并发表了之前的声明，不太可能披露大量新信息。

赖特表示，陪审团需要回答的一些核心问题包括：检方是否已排除合理怀疑地证明圣地亚哥的行为协助和教唆了杀人，以及她是否意图导致他人死亡。

根据北卡罗来纳州的教唆和协助理论，检察官不仅需要证明圣地亚哥“明知故犯地建议、唆使、鼓励、促成或帮助他人实施”谋杀，还需要证明她的“行为或言论导致或促成”枪手实施谋杀。

他说：“如果陪审团认为她做了某些事情，并且她有意通过她的朋友（他们要扣动扳机）导致另一个人死亡，那么这就足以证明她有罪。”

赖特表示，圣地亚哥的辩护律师预计将对检方的论点提出质疑，其中包括北卡罗来纳州法院是否对涉嫌协助犯罪但未在加利福尼亚州实施任何实际犯罪行为的人拥有管辖权。

赖特表示，加利福尼亚州也有类似的教唆和协助犯罪法律，检察官也可以对圣地亚哥提起诉讼，但目前尚不清楚在北卡罗来纳州的案件审理期间，他们是否会这样做。

赖特表示，鉴于这起谋杀案备受关注，圣地亚哥的案件可能需要数月甚至数年才能在州法院审理完毕。

随着圣地亚哥案件的进展，两州官员均表示，他们打算继续寻求追究袭击事件相关人员责任的潜在途径。

“我们会及时向这些英雄的家属通报各方面的进展，”斯蒂芬说。“圣地亚哥地方检察官办公室将继续调查此案，直到所有应为其行为承担责任的人都被绳之以法。”

CNN的Dianne Gallagher对本报道亦有贡献。