Girl who allegedly recorded livestream of San Diego Islamic Center shooting charged with murder
The North Carolina teen was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder.
A 17-year-old girl from North Carolina has been indicted on murder charges for allegedly aiding the suspects in the deadly attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego by disseminating a livestream of the May shooting and releasing their writings, officials announced on Monday.
The teen, Sarah Santiago, is being charged as an adult with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, according to an indictment filed Monday in Forsyth County.
A lawyer for Santiago maintained the teen's innocence.
"The discovery in the matter has not been released to me for specific evidentiary comments," the attorney, Alan Doorasamy, told ABC News. "Suffice it to say, this matter is sub judice and at this time I can confirm that my client is innocent of all these charges."
Three men were killed in the May 18 shooting at the Islamic center, which is home to a school where some 140 children were playing in the back at the time gunfire erupted, prosecutors in Forsyth County said.
Two suspects in the attack -- 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez -- were found dead in a vehicle nearby, authorities said.
"When I looked at this, the facts of this case, the evidence of this case, I realized that what we really had was the purpose and plan of Vazquez and Clark that day was twofold -- number one, it was to kill as many people possible on that day, and secondly, they wanted this -- their carnage and destruction -- recorded, live-streamed and disseminated out," Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill said at a press briefing on Monday, referring to the two suspects as "domestic terrorists."
Santiago was allegedly communicating with the suspects on Signal leading up to the attack and was among three people who watched the livestream, according to O'Neill. She is also accused of providing a Sonnenrad patch, depicting a neo-Nazi symbol, that Vazquez allegedly wore during the attack, according to the indictment.
"This was not a single-day plan. This had been building up," O'Neill said.
O'Neill said that while Santiago was not in California at the time of the attack, she can be charged with murder in North Carolina because she is accused of aiding and abetting the suspects.
"When someone has credible knowledge that a crime is going to be planned or to be committed, particularly any act of violence, the law requires them to come forward and report it," FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis said during the presser. "Failure to do so is not only irresponsible, but it can also be a crime."
The indictment also alleges that Santiago conspired with the two suspects to attack worshippers at a Jewish temple and African-American students at a high school.
The teen, a student in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County school system, was arrested last week ahead of the grand jury indictment, according to O'Neill. He said authorities decided to act because it was close to the start of the school year and holy holidays.
"We looked at the carnage that had occurred in California, and quite frankly, this is a student in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County school system, and the thought of her going back to school, or with the weekend approaching, holy days approaching, we didn't know what she was capable of," O'Neill said. "It was frankly too great a risk to wait until a grand jury could decide."
The investigation is still ongoing, Davis said.
Amin Abdullah, Nadir Awad and Mansour Kaziha were killed in the shooting at the Islamic Center. O'Neill hailed them as heroes.
"The men who died at the mosque that day were men of courage, sacrifice and faith," he said. "They saved countless lives that day."
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