Landscaper shot near San Diego mosque says helmet saved his life

Tafu Letuli said he was inches away from “meeting a horrible end” when gunfire tore through his parked truck on Salerno Street in Clairemont, and the 52-year-old landscaper said his helmet likely saved his life. In his first statement after the shooting, Letuli described himself as “just a tree trimmer” and said he felt “fortunate and sad” after surviving the blast of a bullet that struck him as the teens drove by and opened fire.

Letuli was shot near the Islamic Center of San Diego, only blocks from the mosque where three men were killed in a separate attack on May 18, 2026, at about 11:43 a.m. in the 7000 block of Eckstrom Avenue. Police said the two teenage suspects later died in a nearby vehicle from self-inflicted gunshot wounds after officers arrived at the scene in Clairemont. The shootings unfolded just before Eid al-Adha, intensifying fear across San Diego’s Muslim community.

San Diego police and the FBI have said they are investigating the mosque attack as a hate crime. Authorities said they found evidence of “generalized hate rhetoric” tied to the suspects, and investigators were reviewing an online video and 75 pages of writings allegedly linked to them, including material with white nationalist and neo-Nazi symbolism. The FBI has asked the public to send photos, videos and other visual information to its digital tipline as agents continue to piece together the sequence of events.

The three men killed at the mosque were identified as Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad. Officials and community leaders said the men helped protect children inside the mosque and school during the assault, a response that may have prevented even greater loss of life. Their actions have become central to the community’s understanding of what happened inside the Islamic Center of San Diego, where the attack left families grieving and a neighborhood on edge.

The Islamic Center of San Diego has established a verified support fund for victims and families, while officials have urged the public to rely on official channels for donations and information. As investigators move through witness accounts, digital evidence and the aftermath of the Clairemont shootings, Letuli’s survival has added another painful layer to a case already defined by loss, fear and the split-second difference between life and death.