A teen accused in last week’s deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego had a twisted obsession with infamous mass killers and even showed up to school dressed like them before the attack.
Caleb Vazquez, 18, allegedly alarmed classmates and staff at High Tech High in Chula Vista after dressing up as notorious murderers responsible for some of the world’s deadliest mass killings, according to court documents.
A Chula Vista police detective detailed the incidents in a request for a gun violence restraining order filed last January.
The teen also reportedly came to class in 2024 dressed as Dexter, the fictional TV serial killer who secretly lives a double life as a blood splatter expert.
“He also admitted to dressing up similarly to the recent health care CEO shooter,” Det. Nicholas How wrote in the court filing, referring to Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Court documents show Vazquez had become obsessed with mass murderers, including Patrick Crusius, who slaughtered 23 people in a 2019 Walmart massacre in El Paso, and Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in twin gun and bomb attacks in 2011.
Vazquez and Cain Clark, 17, are accused of shooting three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego last Monday before dying in an apparent murder-suicide.
The teen first caught law enforcement’s attention after two friends raised concerns with the school’s assistant principal, according to the outlet.
Police later conducted a welfare check in January 2025 after Vazquez, who was 17 at the time, allegedly warned a friend not to come to school the next day.
When officers arrived at the family’s home, Vazquez’s father allegedly refused to let police speak to his son alone and would not allow officers to confirm whether firearms inside the home were properly secured.
“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 wrote.
School officials also described several troubling incidents involving the teen following a 2024 breakup with his girlfriend.
According to the assistant principal, Vazquez “was observed punching a tree and exhibiting irrational behavior.” In another incident, he allegedly shaved his head, said he looked like someone in a concentration camp, and pointed a banana at people “like a gun.”
Despite the incidents, the assistant principal reportedly told police Vazquez had never been suspended.
The educator also said he was surprised when Vazquez claimed he was being bullied by a transgender student named Kai/Vivica because no student by those names attended the small campus.
The teen allegedly also told school officials he wanted 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, according to the documents.
He reportedly admitted that 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.”
Police documents also state Vazquez admitted to researching material on the dark web “so it couldn’t be traced back to him.”
He was later placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold, and police successfully obtained a temporary gun violence restraining order against him.
After the order was served, Vazquez’s father, Marco Vazquez, reportedly told police he and his wife removed more than two dozen guns, ammunition, and knives from their home and placed them into storage.
Marco Vazquez was later served with his own gun violence restraining order, but Superior Court Judge Enrique Camarena dismissed it two weeks later.