Prosecutors say the 17-year-old helped record and distribute a livestream of the May attack that killed three men.
WINSTON-SALEM, NC — A 17-year-old North Carolina girl has been indicted on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder after prosecutors accused her of aiding two teenage gunmen who killed three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego in May.
Sarah Lindsey Santiago of Winston-Salem was arrested last week and indicted by a Forsyth County grand jury Monday, Aug. 31. Prosecutors say Santiago was not physically present during the California attack but had agreed beforehand to help record a livestream, distribute the recording and release writings produced by the gunmen. The charges rely on North Carolina law allowing people accused of intentionally aiding and abetting a crime to be held criminally responsible for the underlying offense.
According to the indictment and statements from Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill, Santiago communicated with the two attackers before the May 18 shooting and allegedly carried out a planned role in publicizing the violence. Prosecutors also allege she bought a patch bearing a white-supremacist symbol and sent it to one of the gunmen to wear during the attack. The allegations have not been proven in court.
The gunmen, Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing security guard Amin Abdullah and community members Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad. Authorities said Abdullah exchanged gunfire with the attackers and called for a lockdown, helping protect children and staff inside the mosque complex. Kaziha and Awad also tried to intervene as the attack unfolded. Clark and Vazquez later died by suicide in a vehicle near the mosque.
The mosque was operating a school with about 140 children nearby when the shooting began. Federal authorities said shortly after the attack that three adult victims and both teenage attackers were dead. Investigators initially focused on determining the gunmen’s motive, their online activity and whether anyone else knew about or assisted with their plans. The FBI and local law enforcement later examined digital communications and the livestream as part of the investigation.
O’Neill said investigators determined that three people had watched the livestream and that Santiago was among them. Authorities allege she did more than view the footage, saying she had agreed before the attack to preserve and distribute it and to release the gunmen’s writings. Investigators conducted more than 100 interviews, carried out about 30 search warrants and reviewed millions of messages while examining the attackers’ online contacts and communications, authorities said.
Prosecutors also said the San Diego attackers had discussed additional violence at a Jewish house of worship and a predominantly Black high school. Those attacks never occurred. Authorities have described the gunmen as immersed in an extremist online culture that promoted racial and religious hatred. Investigators have treated the mosque shooting as a hate-motivated attack while continuing to examine the extent of the gunmen’s contacts with others online.
The case against Santiago raises an unusual question about criminal responsibility for a person accused of assisting an attack from hundreds of miles away. O’Neill said North Carolina law does not require an alleged accomplice to personally carry out the physical acts of a crime if prosecutors can prove that the person knowingly aided those who did. Prosecutors will still have to prove Santiago’s alleged participation and criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt.
Santiago is being prosecuted as an adult. Her attorney, Alan Doorasamy Sr., has said his client is innocent and that he had not yet received the prosecution’s evidence when the charges were announced. No evidence presented by prosecutors has yet been tested at trial, and the indictment represents allegations rather than a finding of guilt.
The indictment marks one of the most significant developments in the investigation since the May attack. Authorities have not announced charges against the other people who reportedly viewed the livestream, and it remains unclear whether additional defendants will be charged. Santiago’s case will proceed in North Carolina state court as investigators continue examining the wider network of online contacts connected to the San Diego attackers.
Author note: Last updated September 1, 2026.