'The mosque always felt like a safe space': San Diego's Muslims reel after deadly shooting

“'The mosque always felt like a safe space': San Diego's Muslims reel after deadly shooting Submitted by Mohammed Ahmad on Fri, 05/22/2026 - 12:20 Grieving Muslim community directs its anger at Mayor Todd Gloria, accusing him and other city leaders of ignoring years of warnings about rising Islamophobia Two Muslim women console each other at an interfaith vigil near the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD) on 19 May 2026 after two gunmen opened fire on worshippers a day earlier (Sandy Huffaker/AFP) Off The deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego has left southern California's Muslim community reeling, with grieving residents directing their fury at city leaders for ignoring years of warnings over rising Islamophobia. Two gunmen opened fire outside the mosque shortly before midday prayers on Monday, killing Amin Abdullah, 51, Nadir Awad, 57, and Mansour Kaziha, 78, known affectionately in the community as Abu Ezz. Police and the FBI are investigating the shooting as a hate crime, after discovering extremist writings linked to the attackers. Authorities say the pair appeared to have been influenced by neo-Nazi propaganda and previous anti-Muslim attacks, including the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand. For many in San Diego's Muslim community, the attack has deepened fears over rising Islamophobia in the United States . "I immediately thought, it was just another incident, just someone with a BB gun," Osama Shabaik, a San Diego attorney and longtime mosque attendee, told Middle East Eye. "We've had so many times where someone has driven by the masjid [and] fired a BB gun - throwing something at the masjid, just a lot of incidents like that. Then my wife called me, and she's like 'did you see the news? Amin is dead'. I kinda just stopped in my tracks." 'Mayor Gloria is not someone that I would welcome into our Muslim spaces. He is someone who turned his back on the Muslim community years ago' - Osama Shabaik, San Diego resident and mosque attendee The Islamic Center of San Diego, the largest mosque in the county, includes a school attended by roughly 140 children. Officials said the quick actions of Abdullah, a security guard at the mosque, helped trigger a lockdown that prevented a higher death toll. Community members described Abdullah, Awad and Kaziha as heroes who rushed towards danger to protect others. "Amin [Abdullah] is someone who I would see on a regular basis. You can always see him with the largest smile on his face. He greeted everyone," Shabaik said. "Abu Ezz [Kaziha] was an individual who we grew up under - who showed us nothing but love. He accepted everyone as they were. He found it his responsibility to be the caretaker of the mosque. "Finally you have Nader, who in his selflessness was sitting at home and heard the gunshots and ran to help. I have a close friend who is alive because of him." Anger grows against Mayor Todd Gloria More than 2,000 people from across California and the US came to the mosque for funeral prayers on Thursday, where the victims were remembered for shielding worshippers and children during the attack. The shooting comes amid what advocacy groups describe as a sharp rise in anti-Muslim hate incidents since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) says it has documented at least 8,658 cases of Islamophobia and anti-Arab discrimination since 2024. Samar Ismail, a graduate student at the University of California in San Diego, said Muslim organisers had repeatedly warned officials about escalating hostility. "For the past three years, since the genocide started in Palestine... we've been trying to get universities, elected officials, schools… to understand the weight of the anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian Islamophobia, we've been seeing," she told MEE. Muslim-American groups blame mainstreaming of hate speech for mosque shooting Read More » Several residents voiced their anger towards San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, a staunch supporter of Israel who has denounced pro-Palestine protesters and aligned himself with anti-Muslim Zionist groups. "You emboldened Zionist propaganda, and you'll keep doing it as long as it lines your fucking pockets," a local resident shouted at Gloria on Monday when he visited the mosque and pledged increased police protection at religious institutions. "Our Muslim brothers and sisters have been talking to you for how long?" the resident added. Some of the community members accused Gloria of failing to respond to earlier concerns over hate crimes and threats against Muslims. "Where were you leading up to this when we were telling you our community is in pain?" Ismail said. "Right after October 7, he bailed on our meeting last minute… and then had the audacity to show up on the day of the shooting." Shabaik also criticised the mayor's outreach to the community, saying: "Mayor Gloria is not someone that I would welcome into our Muslim spaces. He is someone who turned his back on the Muslim community years ago, and he turned his back on the issues that affect us." 'Illusion of safety has been shattered' Shabaik also questioned whether authorities missed warning signs before the attack. "There are some serious questions that need to be asked of law enforcement," he said. "We know that a few hours passed from when the mother made the phone call to police, and from when the first shots were fired." Police confirmed that one suspect's mother contacted authorities before the shooting, warning that her son was suicidal and had access to firearms. Shabaik added that community members were aware of online threats allegedly posted by Cain Clark, one of the gunmen, before the attack. "We are aware of a situation in which an individual alerted the FBI about Cain Clark, over a month ago," he said. "Cain Clark had been posting essentially the same gun and bulletproof vest that he used at the ICSD [Islamic Center of San Diego] on the app Discord." Authorities have not confirmed whether federal investigators had prior knowledge of the suspects' online activity. For many worshippers, the attack has shattered the sense of safety the mosque once represented. "I was in the eighth grade when 9/11 happened," Shabaik said. "We always grew up knowing that there's a target on our back, the mosque always felt like a safe space from that." Ismail, who described the Islamic Center as "a second home", said the "illusion of safety has been shattered". "This was unlike any mosque I've ever seen before," she said. "This mosque has been my way of finding community away from home and becoming my home... but fear has now exacerbated within the community," she added. US Muslims San Diego, California News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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