The two teenagers who attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, killing three, met online and shared what authorities described as “broad hatred” against “a wide aspect of races and religions.”
Investigators found writings in the vehicle the gunmen used that outlined “religious and racial beliefs of how the world they envisioned should look,” Mark Remily, the FBI special agent in charge in San Diego, said in a news conference.
Officials did not name the shooters, who were found dead in their vehicle with apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds after the attack, but said they were delayed and distracted by the three victims in the shooting who likely averted a greater tragedy.
A security guard, Amin Abdullah, engaged the shooters in gunfire outside the mosque and radioed those inside the building to enter a lockdown, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
Abdullah bought time for around 140 children in the mosque’s school to hide before he was killed in the exchange.
“He sacrificed his life,” said Imam Taha Hassane, the center’s director.
The gunmen breached the mosque after killing Abdullah and moved “room to room,” Wahl said. At one point, the shooters were within 15 feet of children, but were drawn back outside the building before reaching them by two other victims, he added.
The gunmen fatally shot those men, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad, in the center’s parking lot before fleeing.
“We call them our martyrs and our heroes,” Hassane said of the three victims.
Hassane told The Washington Post that Kaziha had worked at the mosque for 40 years and that Awad was a neighbor who lived across the street.
When the attack unfolded, Hassane said, he and his wife were hiding in their apartment upstairs and didn’t see the shooters. But he could hear gunshots.
“We could hear everything,” he said.
Authorities did not share more information on the suspects, males aged 17 and 18, or their writings on Tuesday. Asked about the “manifesto,” Remily said it did not solely express hate towards Muslims.
“These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated,” Remily said.
Two hours before the first report of an active shooter, police received a call from the mother of a runaway juvenile who believed her son was suicidal, officials said Monday. She said that her vehicle and several of her weapons were missing and that her son was with a companion dressed in camouflage. The information sparked a search using license plate recognition technology, which was underway when the active-shooter report came in, police said.
When officers arrived at the mosque around 11:47 a.m., they found three victims outside.
Sam Hamideh, whose son is a second-grader at the mosque’s school, said he immediately wanted to call Abdullah, whom he described as a friend, after learning about the attack.
As he picked up his son on Monday, Hamideh said he was still coming to terms with the news that Abdullah had become “a martyr” while trying to protect the children. Hamideh said Abdullah was committed to kindness toward anyone in need, including homeless people.
“The one thing that makes me emotional is the valor of who he is, a man, a father, and a husband who cared about other kids, who cared about the community,” said Hamideh, a co-owner of a Mediterranean restaurant. “That type of guy is a guy you would want to be.”
The Islamic Center said in a statement Monday that it was mourning the loss of three “pillars of our community” and called the victims “men of courage, sacrifice and faith.” The center said it established a fund to support those affected by the shooting.
Authorities are appealing for more information from the public. Wahl said that the suspects had made no known threat to the mosque but that “hate rhetoric was involved.”
The shooting at the center, which describes itself as the largest mosque in San Diego, comes as houses of worship across the country have increased security in response to deadly attacks on religious communities.
It took place on the first day of Dhul Hijjah, one of the most sacred periods in the Islamic year.
Mayor Todd Gloria said police would step up security at houses of worship in San Diego. “Our city was shaken by a violent act of hate,” he said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said “hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith.”
Hassane said he was still trying to make sense of the incident, which has shaken San Diego’s diverse Muslim community. The mosque is a “peaceful place” that attracts up to 1,500 people during Friday prayers, he said, adding that it will hold a vigil on Tuesday.
“I hope that this incident also will serve as a wake-up call for the entire American society,” he said in reference to gun violence and Islamophobia. “When we don’t watch what we say about one another as Americans, this is what we get.”
Michelle Boorstein, Mariana Alfaro and Karin Brulliard contributed to this report.
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