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US Teen Charged with Murder for Role in San Diego Mosque Attack

San diego: A 17-year-old who livestreamed a May shooting that killed three people at a San Diego, California mosque and distributed the attackers' white supremacist writings has been charged with murder by aiding and abetting, said a prosecutor in North Carolina, where the girl lives. The young woman from the Southern state, whose name was not disclosed, was arrested last week and indicted by a grand jury Monday, shortly before the start of the school year.

According to Anadolu Agency, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill expressed concerns about the timing of the arrest, highlighting the proximity to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, set to start on September 11. O'Neill said, "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." The attackers had reportedly planned to target a synagogue as well.

O'Neill elaborated on North Carolina law, stating that "a person who aids and abets another to commit a crime is guilty of that crime ... just as if he or she had personally done all of the acts necessary to constitute the crime." Authorities identified the two shooters as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18. They attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18 before a security guard exchanged gunfire with them and initiated a lockdown to protect about 140 children inside.

Police reported that the gunmen killed the guard, Amin Abdullah, along with Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad, before killing themselves in a nearby vehicle. O'Neill noted that the shooting was livestreamed through GoPro cameras worn by the gunmen. He added, "Their plan that day was to commit mass murders not only at the mosque but to follow up at a local Jewish temple and finally at a predominantly African American high school there in town."