A young woman from North Carolina whose name has not been released has been charged with aiding and abetting murder in connection with the May 18 attack at the Islamic Center in San Diego, in which three people were killed.
The woman was accused of livestreaming the attack and distributing the attackers’ white supremacist writings. Detained last week, she was charged by a grand jury on Monday.
Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill said officials were concerned about the woman returning to school and what she might do during the upcoming weekend and ahead of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah was expected to begin on Sept. 11.
The San Diego attack
Authorities identified the two people who took part in the attack as 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez. The two attackers killed three people in their assault on the San Diego Islamic Center.
A security guard’s armed confrontation with the attackers, followed by the implementation of a lockdown procedure, helped protect about 140 children at the center. Police said the attackers killed security guard Amin Abdullah as well as Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad, then died by suicide in a nearby vehicle.
O’Neill said the attack was livestreamed using GoPro cameras worn by the attackers.
Targets planned by the attackers
O’Neill said the attackers had planned to target a Jewish temple in the city and a high school attended mostly by African American students after carrying out a mass killing at the mosque. The attackers also planned to target a synagogue.
O’Neill said that under North Carolina law, anyone who aids or abets a crime is held responsible for the same offense as the person who directly committed it.
