SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — One of the teenage gunmen responsible for the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego went to school dressed like notorious killers responsible for mass shootings, court documents obtained by Team 10 show.
Caleb Vazquez alarmed his classmates and teachers at High Tech High in Chula Vista after he started dressing up as various mass murderers, a detective with Chula Vista police wrote in a request for a gun violence restraining order last January.
The teen also came to class in 2024 dressed up as Dexter, the TV character who lives a double life as a blood splatter expert and serial killer.
“He also admitted to dressing up similarly to the recent health care CEO shooter,” Det. Nicholas How wrote in a court document. The detective was referencing Luigi Mangione, who’s accused of killing the late UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The list of notorious killers the teen became obsessed with included Patrick Crusius, who murdered 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 and Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist who killed 77 people in 2011 gun and bomb attacks.
Vazquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17, are accused of shooting three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego last Monday before dying in a murder-suicide. Vazquez first landed on law enforcement's radar after two of his friends reported concerns to High Tech High's assistant principal.
Court documents show Chula Vista police did a welfare check last January after Vazquez, who was 17 at the time, told his friend not to attend school the next day.
Claimed to be bullied by trans student
When officers arrived at the home, Vazquez’s father refused to let them speak to his son alone and would not allow police to verify that his firearms were secured properly.
“The father’s lack of cooperation hindered officers’ ability to fully assess and evaluate the reported concerns and ensure the safety of all parties involved,” How alleged in a court document.
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Vazquez handled a 2024 breakup with his girlfriend poorly, according to the assistant principal, who noted that school officials conducted multiple threat assessments on the student.
Talked about joining military
In one incident that alarmed school leaders, Vazquez “was observed punching a tree and exhibiting irrational behavior.” In another, he said he looked like someone in a concentration camp after shaving his head and pointed a banana at people like a gun.
Despite the outbursts, the assistant principal told police Vazquez had never been suspended.
The educator added that he was surprised to learn Vazquez claimed he was being bullied by a transgender student named Kai/Vivica, noting no students by those names attended the small campus.
The assistant principal also told police that Vazquez talked about wanting to join the military because he “wants to experience the risk of potentially dying.”
The day after the welfare check, school resource officers and an emergency psychiatric response team met with Vazquez.
Teen used the dark web
He told the team he was becoming increasingly infatuated with mass shootings and World War II.
“Respondent made statements about idolizing Hitler and believing he had some redeeming qualities.”
The teen told the resources officers he had been doing a lot of research on the dark web so it couldn’t be traced back to him.
Vazquez was placed on a 72-hour mental health hold, and police successfully obtained a temporary gun violence restraining order against him.
After his son was served, Marco Vazquez told police that he and his wife removed more than two dozen guns, ammunition, and knives from their home and put them into storage.
The father was then served with a gun violence restraining order, which Superior Court Judge Enrique Camarena dismissed two weeks later.
Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish can be reached at austin.grabish@10news.com
