The father of one of the two teenage gunmen in the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego was so concerned about his son that he voluntarily removed all weapons and knives from their Chula Vista home, he wrote in a court filing just over a year before the shooting that killed three peop le and devastated the community. Chula Vista police filed a gun violence emergency protective order against Marco Vazquez in January 2025, court records show, an officer writing in the order that Caleb Vazquez, Marco’s son, “was involved in suspicious behavior idolizing Nazis and mass shooters.” Caleb “was placed on a 5150 hold,” the officer wrote, adding that Marco had 12 firearms registered to him but “would not allow officers to confirm if firearms were stored properly,” the Jan. 30, 2025, order reads. Marco Vazquez wrote in a court declaration that police had visited his home for a welfare check on his son and he told them all firearms were locked in a safe in a locked closet that no one could access, denying them access to the home. He went on to say that he and his wife then decided to remove all firearms from the home. “I am well aware of the seriousness of the allegations made against my son,” Marco wrote. “That is why my wife and I took the initiative to remove all firearms, ammunition and accessories from our home and secure all sharp knives in our home….” Vazquez attached a photo of the gun safe, the closet and a list of 26 weapons – two owned by his wife – as well as miscellaneous boxes of ammunition. 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I do not advocate for or support any violent ideology such as Nazism, racism, school shootings or mass shootings.” Marco said he and his wife had “voluntarily taken other steps to help and monitor” their son, who was 18 at the time of the shooting. In the 2025 declaration, he said they were communicating regularly with his son’s school to monitor him, put him in therapy once a week and had significantly increased their supervision of him. “My wife and I have been supervising him daily since the incident to the extent that we have stayed home for [sic] work to ensure that he is always under our supervision,” Marco wrote, adding that they were “now monitoring our son’s online presence, including all social media. We observe all of his online activities, who he talks to, what he talks about and who he is friends with.” Internet May 21 San Diego mosque suspects' writings reveal influence of online extremism, experts say California May 19 Dozens of weapons, ammo recovered from homes linked to San Diego mosque shooters San Diego police said Tuesday that the two gunmen met and were radicalized online, and began to see one another in person once they realized they both lived in San Diego. Investigators say the mother of the other gunman, 17-year-old Cain Clark, called 911 at 9:42 a.m. PT Monday morning to report her son, guns and car were missing, and that he was suicidal. Police said they were investigating at the time of the shooting, about two hours later. The gunmen approached the Islamic Center of San Diego – both a mosque and a school – and fired on security guard Amin Abdullah, who, before he was killed, fired back and radioed in a lockdown during the gun battle. Two other men – Mansour Kaziha, who worked at the center for 40 years, and Nadir Awad, who lived across the street and ran to help when he heard the shots – were in the parking lot; their presence drew the shooters outside, where they were killed as well. The teens – who appear to have livestreamed the killings – fled, firing on a landscaper nearby before turning guns on themselves. The FBI said they left behind writings filled with extremist views against many groups. “I understand my responsibilities as a parent and a firearm owner,” Marco Vazquez wrote in the 2025 court filing. “I will continue to act responsibly, as I have always done.” The Vazquez family released a statement Wednesday that said they were “heartbroken and devastated.” “We want to begin by acknowledging that nothing we say or do could ever repair the damage his actions have caused,” they wrote. “We condemn these hateful and violent actions entirely. As much as we mourn the child we raised and love, we mourn even more deeply for the innocent lives of Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nadir Awad. We honor and thank them for their heroic actions that day, which prevented the loss of even more innocent lives. Our hearts and prayers are with each of their families during this unimaginably tragic time.” The Vazquez family said their son was on the autism spectrum and they believed he was exposed to “hateful rhetoric, extremist content and propaganda” on the internet and social media that “contributed to his descent into radicalized ideologies and violent beliefs. “While there is no excuse for his actions, we have come to recognize how dangerous online spaces are that normalize hatred,” the statement continues. “Although measures were taken to help him through his mental instability, it ultimately was not enough. We repeatedly encouraged him to seek help, and he voluntarily spent time in multiple rehabilitation centers,” the family said. “We tried to place him in environments and around people who could provide the support and treatment he needed. We will forever live with the burden of wondering whether there was more we could have done to help prevent this senseless tragedy.” ...read more read less