The parents of Caleb Vazquez, the 18-year-old who carried out a fatal shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego alongside 17-year-old accomplice Cain Clark, are suing the mental health facility that had been treating their son. Lilliana and Marco Vazquez allege that Park Mental Health Treatment of San Diego and their son's therapist were negligent and committed medical malpractice, claiming failures in his care contributed to the attack that killed a security guard and two community members on 18 May. The lawsuit matters because it raises questions about whether warning signs, including FBI contact over dark web activity, were adequately acted upon before the tragedy.

The complaint, filed in San Diego County Superior Court, states Vazquez had been hospitalised in January 2025 after a classmate reported he wanted to carry out a school shooting, and was later admitted to Park Mental Health in April after being diagnosed with autism, OCD, body dysmorphia, social anxiety and severe depression with psychotic episodes. Four days before the shooting, the FBI reportedly told his mother that Vazquez had been discussing school shootings and suicide on the dark web, and on the morning of the attack his therapist texted to say he had gone missing overnight. His parents say they searched for hours but could not find him, and that staff failed to inform them sooner or meet with them afterwards. Clark shot Vazquez in the head before turning the gun on himself; both were later found dead in a car.