“One of the gunmen in a deadly shooting at a San Diego mosque had been served a gun violence restraining order last year after police said he was “involved in suspicious behavior, idolizing Nazis and mass shooters.”
Police made a wellness check to the Vazquez home in January 2025 and sometime thereafter Caleb Vazquez was placed on a psychiatric hold, according to court documents filed in California Superior Court in San Diego County. This resulted in the Chula Vista Police Department serving Vazquez with the gun violence restraining order, which prohibits someone from buying or owning firearms, ammunition and magazines.
At that time, officers asked his father, Marco Vazquez, if he had any guns at the house, according to a declaration filed with the court by Marco Vazquez. He confirmed to officers that there were firearms in the house but explained that he kept them locked in a safe that was stored in a locked closet, which he said no one else had access to.
When officers asked to enter the home to confirm this, Marco Vazquez invoked his Fourth Amendment right, which protects people from unreasonable searches. This prompted police to later serve him with a gun violence restraining order as well, according to a declaration filed in February 2025. Officers said in the order that Marco Vazquez had 12 firearms registered to him.
According to the police paperwork, Marco Vazquez was served with the warrant because his son was “involved in suspicious behavior” and “he would not allow officers to confirm if firearms were stored properly.”
Before Caleb and Marco Vazquez were served with the restraining orders, Marco Vazquez said he and his wife “discussed the events” and he “voluntarily took all firearms, ammunition, and accessories” out of his home and secured sharp knives as well, the court documents said. The weapons were transferred to a federal firearms licensee for storage, he said in the declaration that he brought the paperwork confirming the removal to the police station. It was then, he said, that police served him with the gun violence restraining order.
Marco Vazquez also said, according to the declaration, that he and his wife began monitoring their son and his online activity in partnership with his school, placed him in therapy and began “supervising him daily since the incident.” It is not clear what incident the documents are referring to.
It was also stated by his parents that he was on the autism spectrum and had troubles accepting parts of his identity and even grew to resent them.
