Teen girl charged with murder over recording of San Diego mosque attack

A 17-year-old girl from North Carolina has been charged with murder for allegedly aiding and abetting the San Diego mosque attack that killed three people, according to Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill.

The teenager, who was arrested last week, was indicted by a grand jury on Monday. Prosecutors allege she recorded a livestream of the attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, which took place on May 18. The girl also published a manifesto from the two teenage gunmen who carried out the attack, O'Neill stated.

North Carolina law holds people criminally responsible for aiding and abetting a crime in the same way as the person who carried it out, O'Neill explained. The young girl now faces three murder charges and one count of conspiracy.

The attackers, aged 17 and 18, opened fire at the mosque, took their own lives, and filmed the attack using GoPro-style helmets. Security guard Amin Abdullah exchanged gunfire with the shooters and initiated a lockdown, protecting around 140 children inside the mosque. Abdullah and two worshippers, Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad, were fatally shot.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl described Abdullah's actions as "heroic," saying they had undoubtedly saved lives. Investigators say the shooters recorded the attack and had plans for further attacks at a local Jewish temple and a predominantly African American high school. The teenagers had an arsenal of around 30 guns and a crossbow, which were allegedly taken from one of the shooter's parents.

The manifesto left behind by the attackers contained racist and antisemitic views, as well as references to white supremacist ideologies. It cited the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand as one of their models.