A 75-page manifesto attributed to the two teenagers who killed three people in Monday’s attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego is being authenticated by federal investigators, who say the writings reflect a sprawling ideological hatred directed at Muslims, Jews, and others, and praise some of the most notorious mass killers of the past three decades.

Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, opened fire outside the mosque shortly before noon on Monday, killing security guard Amin Abdullah and two staff members. Both attackers died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a vehicle near the scene, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said. The mosque, located in the Clairemont neighborhood and described as the largest in San Diego County, was holding classes for children at the time of the attack.

The document, which has circulated online since the shooting and was reviewed by multiple news organizations, includes lengthy sections apparently written by each of the gunmen. The writings refer extensively to accelerationism, a white-supremacist ideology that calls for violence to hasten the collapse of pluralistic society and the establishment of a white ethnostate, and they identify the 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand mosque massacre as the operational and ideological model for the attack. The manifesto is titled “The New Crusade” and bears the subhead “Sons of Tarrant,” a reference to Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant.

Three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that investigators are working to verify the document’s authorship and provenance.

“We are dedicating every resource the FBI has to conduct a thorough analysis of that manifesto to try to learn what led to this, but I think also more importantly, how can we stop future attacks,” Mark Remily, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego field office, said at a Monday afternoon briefing. “They didn’t discriminate on who they hated. It covered a wide aspect of races and religions, more than just the Islamic people.”

The writings, the imagery left at the scene, and material recovered from the suspects’ online accounts share common features. A red fuel can found near the suspects’ vehicle bore the twin lightning-bolt symbol of the Nazi Waffen-SS. One of the shotguns recovered at the scene was photographed with hateful phrases scrawled on its stock. The Black Sun, an esoteric symbol with origins in Nazi Germany, and the insignia of Atomwaffen Division, a US-based neo-Nazi accelerationist network, appear repeatedly in the manifesto and across material reviewed by The California Post.

In a section identifying himself, Vazquez wrote that he aligned with “Third Positionism, specifically National Socialism and eco-fascism” and that his only meaningful religion was “the white race.” He described himself as an accelerationist who believed that “an all-out race war for the purpose of societal collapse is the only real way forward.” A separate section attributed to Clark, titled “Death to the World,” contained passages on what the author called “the Jewish question,” “Muslims,” and “the beauty of war.”

Clark described himself as “the average white man wanting to do the right thing” and said his motive was to “secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,” a phrase known as the “14 Words” and one of the most recognizable slogans in modern white-supremacist propaganda.

Both authors expressed admiration for past killers. Clark cited Adolf Hitler as an ideological inspiration and named, among others, Christchurch attacker Brenton Tarrant, Poway Chabad gunman John Earnest, Pittsburgh synagogue gunman Robert Bowers, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, and Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik. He also referenced Ted Kaczynski.

The writings include explicit operational discussion of livestreaming an attack, with Vazquez urging readers to “spread our message” and Clark advising future attackers to “try to get the latest version you can if you plan to stream your attack.” A livestream of part of the attack circulated briefly before being taken down by platforms.

The document ends with a question-and-answer section attributed to Clark in which he stated that he hated his victims, did not intend to survive, and was not affiliated with any formal political organization despite his expressed support for various extremist movements. He wrote that, had he survived, he would have allowed his attorneys to manage any subsequent legal proceedings. He also distanced himself from American mainstream politics, writing that “the modern left is retarded, and the modern right is foolish,” and stating that he did not align with either the Trump movement or the institutional right.

Investigators are also reviewing the suspects’ online footprint. A Steam gaming profile and a Venmo account, both using the username “SurfaceLevel,” have been linked to Clark, according to material reviewed by The California Post. The Steam profile contained imagery referencing fascist and Nazi material, including artwork combining the Black Sun symbol with portraits of Hitler, photographs of German soldiers in World War II formation, and a reference to José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of the Spanish Falange. The Post said it identified additional accounts associated with the second attacker containing related imagery and language consistent with the manifesto.

The two attackers appear to have met online, according to a briefing provided by federal officials to CBS News and others, and shared what the FBI described as a “broad hatred” of religions and races.

Clark attended James Madison High School virtually and had been a member of the school’s wrestling team during the 2024-2025 season. He was scheduled to graduate later this month, a district official said. Vazquez has been described in initial reporting as a resident of Chula Vista, where law enforcement officials were observed at a home believed to be linked to his family. Clark’s mother had contacted San Diego police hours before the attack, reporting that her son was missing, suicidal, and had taken her car and several firearms. She told officers that he and a companion had left dressed in camouflage. Officers had been in contact with the family that morning.

Wahl, the police chief, called the assault “every community’s worst nightmare” and said it was being investigated as a hate crime. He credited Abdullah, the security guard killed, with preventing what he described as a potentially far greater toll inside the mosque.

“At this point, I think it’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” Wahl said. “Undoubtedly, he saved lives today.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)