A North Carolina teenager charged in connection with a deadly attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego is demanding more information from prosecutors about what they say she did and when she allegedly did it.
Sarah Santiago, 17, has been charged as an adult with three counts of murder by aiding and abetting and one count of conspiracy, according to reporting adapted from The Associated Press. Prosecutors allege she helped California teens Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez, who killed three people at the mosque on May 18 before killing themselves.
Defense Says Allegations Lack Key Details
Santiago’s attorney, Alan Doorasamy, told the court that prosecutors have not provided enough detail for him to defend his client. He said prosecutors have not specified how Santiago allegedly communicated with Clark and Vazquez, what dates those communications took place, or the details of the alleged agreement to record and distribute a livestream of the attack.
Doorasamy filed a request Friday for a “bill of particulars,” a legal filing seeking more specific information about the allegations. A judge scheduled a hearing on the motion for Wednesday.
The motion does not seek the evidence itself, but asks prosecutors to clarify the charges and the factual basis for them.
Prosecutors had not responded to the request as of the AP report. The Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office also did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.
Prosecutors Allege Help With Livestream and Writings
Prosecutors in North Carolina allege Santiago agreed in advance to record and distribute a livestream made by the attackers and to disseminate their white-supremacist writings.
She is also accused of buying a patch bearing a white-supremacist symbol and sending it to one of the gunmen to wear during the attack.
Outside the courthouse Monday, Doorasamy denied wrongdoing by his client.
“She needs to know why she was arrested,” Doorasamy told The Associated Press. “She’s a child. Of course she’s very scared and she’s worried, but she’s done nothing wrong.”
Santiago was arrested late last month and is being held without bail.
Attackers Killed Three Before Taking Their Own Lives
Authorities say Clark, 17, and Vazquez, 18, stormed the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18. A security guard exchanged gunfire with them and initiated a lockdown that helped protect 140 children nearby, according to the AP report.
The attackers killed the guard, Amin Abdullah, and two other men before taking their own lives in a nearby vehicle.
Authorities said the pair left behind writings filled with hatred toward multiple groups and cited the attacker who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, as an influence.
Authorities also said Clark and Vazquez had planned later attacks on two other targets: a Jewish temple and Black students at a high school.
Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill credited the guard and other victims at the mosque with saving countless lives.
Potential Penalties Are Severe
Under North Carolina law, the aiding-and-abetting murder charges could carry the same penalties as if Santiago had personally committed the attack, if she is convicted.
In a written statement, the Vazquez family said Caleb Vazquez was on the autism spectrum and had grown to resent parts of his identity. The family said it believed those factors, combined with exposure to hateful rhetoric online, contributed to his radicalization.
