The attorney for a North Carolina teenager accused of assisting two other youths in a deadly attack on a San Diego mosque stated that prosecutors have not furnished adequate information for him to mount a defense for his client.
Sarah Santiago, 17, faces charges as an adult, including three counts of murder by aiding and abetting, and one count of conspiracy. Authorities allege she aided California teens Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez, who killed three individuals at the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18 before taking their own lives.
Prosecutors in North Carolina contend that Santiago agreed beforehand to record and distribute a livestream of the attack by the shooters and to disseminate their white-supremacist writings. She is also accused of purchasing a patch with a white-supremacist symbol and sending it to one of the gunmen to wear during the assault.
However, Santiago's attorney, Alan Doorasamy, stated during a court hearing that prosecutors have not yet provided details on how or on what dates Santiago allegedly communicated with the shooters, nor have they supplied specifics about the purported agreement to record and disseminate the livestream. Doorasamy submitted a formal request for this information, known as a "bill of particulars," on Friday. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday on the motion, which seeks to compel prosecutors to clarify the allegations rather than turn over actual evidence.
The Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office had not immediately responded to a request for comment on Monday. "She needs to know why she was arrested," Doorasamy told The Associated Press outside the courthouse. "She’s a child. Of course she’s very scared and she’s worried, but she’s done nothing wrong."
Santiago was apprehended late last month and is being held without bail. Under North Carolina law, convictions for aiding and abetting can carry the same penalties as committing the attack directly.
Clark, 17, and Vazquez, 18, entered the Islamic Center before being driven outside by a security guard who exchanged gunfire with them. Authorities credited the guard and other victims at the mosque with preventing further loss of life, as approximately 140 children were nearby. The pair killed the guard, Amin Abdullah, and two other men before dying by suicide in a nearby vehicle. They left behind writings expressing animosity towards various groups and citing the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooter as an influence.
Authorities also revealed that Clark and Vazquez had planned subsequent attacks targeting a Jewish temple and Black students at a high school. The family of Caleb Vazquez stated that he was on the autism spectrum and had expressed resentment about parts of his identity, suggesting that online hateful rhetoric contributed to his radicalization.