Overview of Former CIA Explains the San Diego Mosque Shooting
Sarah Adams breaks down the May 18 terrorist attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, focusing less on the violence itself and more on the extremist ideology behind it. She argues the shooting was a deliberate piece of propaganda tied to accelerationism — a white supremacist, nihilistic movement that seeks to provoke societal collapse through mass violence, polarization, and fear.
What Happened in San Diego
- Two teenagers, Cain Lee Clark (17) and Caleb Liam Vasquez (18), arrived at the mosque with:
- rifles
- body armor
- neo-Nazi symbols
- live-streaming equipment
- The attack killed three people:
- Amin Abdullah, a security guard who confronted the attackers and tried to draw them away from the school area
- Manzur Abdul Kaziha, a longtime caretaker/gift shop worker who also helped divert the shooters
- Nadir Awad, a nearby resident who responded after hearing gunfire because his wife taught at the school
- The mosque’s school reportedly had 140 students inside at the time.
- The two shooters later died by self-inflicted gunshot wounds after fleeing.
The Core Ideology: Accelerationism
Adams explains that this was not just a hate crime or random mass shooting — it was driven by accelerationism.
What accelerationists believe
- Society is beyond repair and should be pushed toward collapse.
- Violence, chaos, and polarization are tools to speed up that collapse.
- Their hoped-for end state is a societal breakdown severe enough to trigger a “new world order” or revolutionary reset.
Why it matters
- Accelerationists are not trying to win mainstream support or build a political movement.
- They often embrace nihilism, spectacle, and mass-casualty violence.
- The goal is not persuasion — it’s amplification and copycat inspiration.
The Manifesto and Online Propaganda
A major focus of the discussion is the shooters’ manifesto, titled “The New Crusade, Sons of Tarrant.”
Why the title is significant
- It directly references Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch mosque shooter who killed 51 worshipers in New Zealand in 2019.
- Adams frames Christchurch as a pivotal event that created a “blueprint” for later attackers.
What the manifesto showed
- The attackers openly identified as accelerationists.
- One described accelerating society toward collapse and race war as the only path forward.
- The other reportedly described himself as a Christian eco-fascist accelerationist.
- The document praised prior mass killers as ideological “saints,” including:
- Brenton Tarrant
- Dylann Roof
- Robert Bowers
- John Earnest
- Elliot Rodger
The “saints culture”
- Adams describes an online extremist ecosystem that glorifies prior attackers as almost mythic figures.
- These communities study attacks in obsessive detail, compare body counts, and circulate propaganda posters and imagery.
- The point is to create a lineage that new attackers want to join.
Warning Signs and Missed Indicators
Adams says there were many visible breadcrumbs before the attack:
- obsession with previous attackers
- manifesto writing
- apocalyptic rhetoric
- isolation
- fascination with collapse narratives
- planning around live streaming
- violent symbolism
- a reported missing firearm
- possible suicidal ideation
- a possible prior psychiatric hold
- reports the FBI may have known about one suspect a year earlier
Her main point: this kind of threat has to be addressed before the attack, not after.
Why This Threat Is Hard to Counter
Decentralized and hybridized
- Unlike groups such as al-Qaeda or ISIS, accelerationist networks often lack a clear hierarchy.
- They blend multiple extremist ideas into one unstable mix:
- neo-Nazism
- misogyny/incel ideology
- eco-fascism
- conspiracy theories
- nihilism
Online radicalization is central
- The two shooters met online.
- Radicalization happens through:
- encrypted chats
- extremist forums
- gore sites
- meme culture
- live-stream ecosystems
- algorithmic reinforcement loops
Broader Counterterrorism Takeaways
Adams criticizes the political tendency to frame counterterrorism too narrowly, arguing that threats should not be filtered by partisan labels. Her main points:
- extremist violence from any direction should be treated seriously
- current U.S. counterterrorism strategy does not adequately address accelerationism
- law enforcement and intelligence agencies are still behind the curve
- this movement is likely to be one of the defining domestic terrorism challenges of the next decade
Main Takeaway
The San Diego mosque shooting was not only an act of murder — it was intended as ideological propaganda. Adams argues that accelerationists want violence to be filmed, shared, and copied, making each attack part of a larger campaign to normalize collapse and inspire the next attacker.