Valley Crescent School boosts security after San Diego shooting

Valley Crescent School in Clovis sent students home early Monday and is now reviewing stronger doors, better alarms, more cameras and a new security company after the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego rattled Muslim families across Fresno County.

The private Islamic school, which serves the Clovis-Fresno area and enrolls about 175 students, already has a gated perimeter. Leaders said that was not enough after the attack, and they are now looking at changes that will affect the daily rhythm of the campus, from arrival and dismissal to who can enter for school activities and family events. The school is also preparing for upcoming graduation ceremonies with enhanced security.

Valley Crescent’s history helps explain why the loss hit so close to home. The school was founded in 2001 with 40 students and moved to its current Clovis location in 2005 to make room for growth. It describes itself as the only private Islamic school south of Sacramento and north of Bakersfield, a claim that underscores how few alternatives Muslim families have in the San Joaquin Valley when they want an Islamic school close to home. Dr. Mohammad Ashraf, the school president, said the tragedy landed especially hard because Valley Crescent and the San Diego Islamic Center have long had a close relationship.

In San Diego, police responded to a report of an active shooter around 11:43 a.m. Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego, described as the largest mosque in San Diego County. Officers found three men dead in front of the mosque. Reports said the suspected shooters were two teenagers, ages 17 and 18, who later died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Authorities are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime, and investigators said they found evidence of generalized hate rhetoric. A mosque security guard, Amin Abdullah, died while helping protect children and staff inside the mosque’s school.

The fallout has spread well beyond San Diego. CAIR-San Diego said, “no one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school.” CAIR offices in other states also issued safety alerts urging Islamic centers and houses of worship to review and strengthen security measures. For Muslim institutions in Fresno County, that has meant confronting a grim new calculation: what it will cost to harden entrances, add surveillance and staff up for events that once felt routine.