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North Carolina teen indicted on murder charges in San Diego mosque shooting livestream case
A 17-year-old North Carolina girl faces three murder counts and one conspiracy count for allegedly recording and distributing the livestream of the deadly San Diego mosque shooting and publishing the attackers' manifesto.
A 17-year-old North Carolina girl has been indicted on murder charges for allegedly helping spread the livestream of a deadly mosque shooting in San Diego and publishing the attackers' manifesto, authorities said Monday.
Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill announced that the teenager, identified in court records as Sarah L. Santiago, was indicted on three counts of murder by aiding and abetting and one conspiracy count. Although she was across the country during the May 18 attack, prosecutors say she recorded and helped distribute the gunmen's livestream and published their manifesto.
«She disseminated that information. And she published their manifesto,» O'Neill said.
The indictment alleges Santiago agreed before the attack to record and distribute the livestream and publish the manifesto. She is also accused of buying a patch bearing a white-supremacist symbol for one of the attackers to wear during the shooting, according to The Associated Press.
Authorities said Caleb Vazquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17, stormed the Islamic Center of San Diego armed and intending to kill people inside. The gunmen killed three men — Amin Abdullah, Nadir Awad and Mansour Kaziha — who confronted them and helped prevent further bloodshed. The attackers later died by suicide in a vehicle nearby, police said.
Officials said the mosque was one target in a broader attack plan. «Their plan that day was to commit mass murders not only at the mosque, but to follow up at a local Jewish temple. And finally, at a predominantly African-American high school there in town,» O'Neill said.
O'Neill said Santiago could face charges in North Carolina even though she was not physically present in California. «She didn't have to be in California, she's in our jurisdiction,» O'Neill said. «And today, a grand jury indicted her and held her responsible for her actions leading up to that disastrous day in May.»
North Carolina law allows a 17-year-old accused of such conduct to be treated as an adult, O'Neill noted.
The broader investigation has included more than 100 interviews, over 30 search warrants and a review of more than 4 million messages, authorities said. FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis said the individual had multiple opportunities to come forward to law enforcement before the attack.
«Our investigation shows that the individual had multiple opportunities to come forward to law enforcement and alert us of these deliberate actions, and the failure to do so must have consequences,» Davis said.
