SAN DIEGO (KGTV)- The family of one of the teens accused of the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego has filed a lawsuit against the mental health facility where he was being treated, raising questions about warning signs that went unaddressed before the attack.
The family of 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez filed the lawsuit against Park Mental Health Treatment of San Diego. Their attorney, Norman Finkelstein, says the FBI contacted Vazquez's mother four days before the shooting to warn her about his online activity.
"He was in there about a week when she was contacted by the FBI, the mother, and was told that he's on the dark web. He's soliciting participants who want to engage in a shooting at schools, mosques, synagogues," Finkelstein said.
Finkelstein says the mother notified the facility right away, but the lawsuit claims staff knew about the warning signs and still failed to keep Vazquez safe.
"They were somewhat reckless because they had a duty to protect him from himself, and they just failed to," Finkelstein said.
The family says Vazquez left the facility the night before the shooting, but they were not notified until the next morning. The lawsuit also raises questions about the FBI's involvement and whether the San Diego Police Department was notified.
Imam Taha Hassane of the Islamic Center of San Diego said the community is also seeking answers.
"There are a lot of questions about who allowed that to happen and why there was no follow-up, why the law enforcement was not notified about him leaving the facility," Hassane said.
Park Mental Health Treatment responded with a statement.
"We believe that many of the allegations of the complaint are incorrect or counterfactual. While it is understandable that his parents might seek to blame someone in their time of loss, this lawsuit is misguided in that neither Park nor its employees are responsible for Mr. Vazquez's actions," the facility said.
The FBI and SDPD were also contacted for comment. Neither had responded as of the time of this report.
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