The parents of an 18-year-old who, along with an accomplice, killed three people at a San Diego mosque have filed a lawsuit against the mental health clinic where their son was being treated. Lilliana and Marco Vazquez accuse Park Mental Health Treatment of San Diego of negligence and medical malpractice, alleging the facility failed to prevent the fatal shooting on May 18.
Caleb Vazquez, 18, and 17-year-old Cain Clark were found dead in a car after the attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Clark had shot Vazquez before killing himself. The victims included a security guard and two community members.
According to the civil complaint, Vazquez had a history of mental illness. The lawsuit states he was hospitalized in January 2025 after a classmate reported him expressing a desire to commit a school shooting. He was discharged after three days.
Vazquez was later admitted to Park Mental Health in April 2025, after being diagnosed with autism, OCD, body dysmorphia, social anxiety, and severe depression with psychotic episodes. The lawsuit notes that on May 14, four days before the mosque shooting, the FBI informed Vazquez's mother that her son had been discussing school shootings and suicide on the dark web.
Lilliana Vazquez contacted Park Mental Health and her son's therapist, Mikayla Weathers, who was also named as a defendant. Weathers reportedly acknowledged being contacted by the FBI and spoke with Vazquez's mother on May 15. Three days later, on the morning of the shooting, Weathers texted the mother asking if she knew Caleb's whereabouts, indicating he was missing.
The parents drove to the Park Mental Health housing where their son was residing. They reportedly saw surveillance footage of Vazquez leaving the premises alone at 8:24 p.m. the previous night. After searching for hours, they were unable to locate him. When they attempted to see his therapist, she declined to meet with them, and their inquiries about why they weren't informed of Vazquez's departure went unanswered, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Park Mental Health and other defendants "engaged in negligent failure to take steps to protect... Vazquez from his own self destructive actions in a timely manner," particularly after the FBI's alert. It further claims the facility failed in its standard of care by not securing Vazquez in a "locked and secure facility... and otherwise prevent him from escaping their custodial care."
The complaint outlines four causes of action: negligence, dependent adult abuse or neglect, wrongful death, and medical malpractice. Vazquez's parents are seeking unspecified damages.
Chris Saldana, an attorney for Park Mental Health, denied the allegations, stating that Caleb Vazquez was not in a court-ordered confinement and that the facility was not a secure facility. Saldana told NBC San Diego that the lawsuit contains "many incorrect factual assertions."
Park Mental Health has not yet filed a formal response to the lawsuit. The organization has one month to do so. The Daily Mail has reached out to Park Mental Health for further comment.