A North Carolina woman has been indicted on murder and conspiracy charges related to her alleged involvement in the mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Authorities announced on Monday that the 17-year-old, who was a minor at the time of the incident, allegedly assisted the attackers in spreading their message and publicizing the event. She was arrested last week, and a grand jury indicted her on three counts of murder and one count of conspiracy.
The woman was reportedly one of three individuals who watched the gunmen's livestream of the shooting. She is accused of recording the livestream and disseminating the gunmen's writings, according to Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill. Initially, she faced the possibility of a few years in the juvenile justice system due to her age, but prosecutors expressed concerns about the severity of the allegations and the potential for her return to school.
O’Neill stated during a press conference, "We didn’t know what she was capable of. The law in North Carolina is clear. A person may be guilty of a crime, although he or she personally does not do any of the acts to constitute the crime."
The May 18 attack resulted in the deaths of three men and was carried out by 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez, both of whom were later found dead in a vehicle near the mosque. Prosecutors are pursuing the murder charges under an aiding-and-abetting theory, asserting that individuals can be held responsible for a killing if they knowingly facilitated the crime without directly committing the act.
Investigators allege that the woman was involved in the online dissemination of materials related to the attack, including the gunmen's manifesto and information about the livestream. Authorities indicated that the attackers aimed to kill as many people as possible and sought to spread their ideology to a broader audience. The case against the teenager developed during a months-long investigation involving the FBI, San Diego authorities, and law enforcement in North Carolina, with charges being brought after examining her communications and actions in connection with the attack.