LAGOS MAY 19TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Three people, including a security guard, were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday before two suspected gunmen, aged 17 and 18, were found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.
The FBI and local law enforcement are investigating a potential motive, with police considering the shooting a possible hate crime.
One of the victims was a security guard at the Islamic Center, later identified as Amin Abdullah, who authorities credited with preventing the attackers from breaching the inside of the building.
“His actions were heroic and undoubtedly he saved lives,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
Security guard Amin Abdullah is being mourned as a hero for stopping the gunmen from reaching dozens of children. The internet focuses on grief, tributes and the horror faced by the community, not internet jokes or memes.
Wahl said the mother of one of the suspects reported her son missing, along with multiple weapons, around two hours before the shooting. She said her son and a companion were dressed in camouflage when they were last seen.
The two male suspects were found dead in a car parked near the mosque after the shooting.
Authorities have not confirmed details of either the victims or the suspected gunmen.
What happened?
Police responded to a report of an active shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego shortly before noon local time and found three deceased victims outside, Wahl said during a news conference early Monday afternoon.
In a second press conference on Monday evening, Wahl explained that authorities had received a report of a “runaway juvenile” from the mother of one of the suspects earlier that morning.
After learning that some of the mother’s weapons had gone missing and that her son and a companion were dressed in camouflage, police began to believe there was a “bigger threat picture” facing the area, Wahl said.
Police searched several locations for the suspect, including a school and a local mall, when they received the call about the shooting at the mosque.
At around the same time as police arrived at the Islamic center, there were reports of more gunfire a few blocks away, where it is believed the fleeing suspects fired shots at a landscaper. Officers were then called to a nearby location, where a vehicle was found in the middle of the street, with the two suspects dead inside.
The mosque is also the site of a school for children from pre-K to 3rd grade. Children were present at the time of the incident, but none were hurt, police said.
One nine-year-old child, whose mother emigrated from Gaza and settled in Southern California two decades ago, was among dozens of children forced to huddle in classrooms as the attack unfolded.
“We saw a bunch of bad stuff, people lying down and, yeah, bad stuff,” the child said. “My legs were shaking and my hands and my head were, like, hurting a lot. I felt like a rock.”
What we know about the suspected gunmen
The identities of the suspected gunmen have not yet been confirmed by authorities.
However, NBC News, citing senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation, and CNN were among news outlets that identified the 17-year-old suspect as Cain Clark, who went to a local high school.
CNN reported Clark’s grandparents as saying they were “very sorry for what happened.” According to NBC, Clark attended high school virtually and was due to graduate this semester.
Wahl said authorities found evidence that the suspects engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric” but that no specific threat was made against the mosque or any religious center before the shooting. He added: “It’s being investigated as a hate crime at this point. There was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved.”
Investigators said that anti-Islamic writing had been found in the car and that the word “hate speech” was found on one of the guns, according to the New York Times, citing two law enforcement officials.
Wahl said that the mother of one of the suspected gunmen in the deadly mosque shooting had told authorities she believed her son was suicidal. Police declined to disclose the contents of a note he said was found by the runaway’s mother.
What we know about the victims
Authorities have not confirmed the identities of the victims.
However, the Associated Press spoke to a family friend of Abdullah, who is believed to be the security guard Wahl said “played a pivotal role” in preventing the attack from being more deadly.
“He wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard,” Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq said.
The Center called him “a courageous man who put himself on the line of the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community.”
Sara Elfeky, who attends the mosque, said of the security guard: “He served the community. He really loved the community. And he was always at the mosque. He was the last person to always lock the doors.”
Where did the attack happen?
The Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its website. Its mission is to “serve the religious needs of the San Diego Muslim population and work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation.”
Local and state leaders have condemned the attack.
“This is a house of worship. It’s not a battlefield,” Taha Hassane, the imam at the Islamic Center, said on Monday. “Let’s do our best to spread the culture of love and tolerance and sympathy for the sake of this nation, for the sake of the future generation.”
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria shared a message for the city’s Muslim community in the wake of the attack.
“I want to assure our Muslim community that we will do everything it takes to make sure that you can feel safe in this city, and no resource will be spared. And making sure that our religious institutions and locations are protected in this sensitive time,” he said. “But to reassert, as I always will: Hate has no place in the city of San Diego.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for solidarity against hate in a post on social media.
“Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives,” he wrote. “Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith.”
Yahoo News
For media advert placement, events coverage, media consultancy, placement of publications and further inquiries please WhatsApp 2348023773039 or email: labakevwe@yahoo.com
