Federal law enforcement officials warned parents that their teenage son was making concerning comments about school shootings on the dark web just days before he carried out a mass shooting at a San Diego mosque, according to new details included in a recently filed lawsuit. Caleb Vazquez, 18, was living at Park Mental Health Treatment of San Diego and receiving treatment for a range of mental health conditions, including depression and psychotic episodes at the time of the attack. His mother alleges in her lawsuit that the mental health facility failed to intervene despite signs that her 18-year-old son posed an imminent threat to himself and others.
The court filings follow several high-profile convictions of guardians who provided teenagers with weapons that were later used in mass shootings. The FBI called Vazquez’s mother on the evening of May 14, and she said she immediately left a message with the treatment facility to notify its staff, according to the lawsuit, filed in a San Diego court on August 31. Vazquez’s mother again shared the FBI’s warnings with her son’s therapist on May 15 and with a program director later that night.
On May 18, the morning of the shooting, employees at the facility contacted Vazquez’s mother to tell her that he was missing. Video surveillance footage subsequently showed Vazquez leaving the property at 8pm the night before. Vazquez’s parents were driving around looking for him on the morning of the shooting.
Vazquez and another teenager killed three people at the San Diego mosque that day before taking their own lives. It is unclear whether Vazquez was allowed to leave the previous evening or whether he broke facility rules by doing so. Park Mental Health offers a range of treatment options, some of which advertise 24-hour surveillance, while others provide more limited counseling.
The center did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Saturday afternoon. In a previous statement to radio station KPBS, Park Mental Health disputed the assertions in the lawsuit. Vazquez’s actions,” the statement to KPBS read.
The FBI’s alleged contact with Vazquez’s parents was not the first sign of his mental deterioration. Vazquez had been hospitalized for roughly three days in January 2026 after telling a classmate that he wanted to carry out a school shooting. Almost exactly a year earlier, Vazquez was flagged to law enforcement for exhibiting alarming behavior and idolizing Nazis, prompting police to confiscate 26 guns from his father under a 2014 California law allowing firearms to be taken from people considered dangerous.
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