- Three Muslim men were killed at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
- In the aftermath of the attack, two suspects were discovered in a nearby vehicle, where authorities reportedly found anti-Islam writings.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said in a statement during a press conference after authorities had declared that the three had been neutralised:
“At about 11:43 we received a call of an active shooter at the Islamic centre, within four minutes officers arrived on scene and observed what appeared 3 deceased victims out at front. They immediately began to deploy a shooter response into the mosque and adjacent school. Moments later at the 3800 block at Hatton, officers were called to that location where they found a vehicle in the middle of the street with who we believe to be the shooters in this incident, both deceased.”
“What we know at this time is that the three deceased adult males,” Wahl said regarding the victims.
One of the victims who were shot was a security guard who worked at the centre named Amin Abdullah. Abdullah was reported to be instrumental in preventing further casualties and from protecting the children who were present at the pre-Kindergarten School until third grade. He instantly ensured all the classrooms were locked. The children have been reported to all be safe.
Amin’s poignant final Facebook reflections on death have moved many.
“Because of the Islamic centre location, we are considering this a hate crime until it’s not, and at this point we’re going to work closely with the FBI to make sure that we are matching all the resources that we need for this investigation,” Wahl added.
Anti-Islam writings were reportedly found where the mosque gunmen were found dead.
The suspected shooters are reported to be 19 and 17 years old.
President Donald Trump responded to the shooting, “They’re giving a briefing on it …and it’s a terrible situation. I’ve been given some early updates, but we’re going to be going back and looking at it very strongly,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Islamic Center of San Diego Director Taha Hassane said in a statement, “it is extremely outrageous” to target a place of worship. We have never experienced a tragedy like this before.”
“People come to the Islamic centre to pray, to celebrate, to learn, not only Muslims …Just this morning, earlier, a group of people, non-Muslims, came just to learn about our faith and our cultures. So this is something that we have never expected,” he said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in San Diegoreleased a statement after the incident:
CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam said: “We strongly condemn this horrifying act of violence at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this attack. No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school. We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”
Following the horrific event, the far-right extremist, Laura Loomer posted a vile comment on X suggesting the incident was a false flag, and showing no sympathy or respect for the murdered Muslim victims.
