San Diego mosque shooting leaves 3 dead, police probe hate crime

Authorities in San Diego are trying to determine whether the deadly attack on a mosque was targeted anti-Muslim violence, broader extremist violence or something else, after three men were killed and two teenage suspects died from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

The shooting unfolded at the Clairemont mosque, about 8 miles north of downtown San Diego, and immediately raised alarms far beyond Southern California. Police said they are probing the case as a possible hate crime while examining a 75-page online document that allegedly contains anti-Islamic, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ material, along with references to accelerationism and the Christchurch mosque attacker Brenton Tarrant. Law enforcement sources identified the suspects as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18.

The victims were identified as Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad. Community members and mosque leaders said Abdullah, a security guard, exchanged gunfire with the attackers, was hit, and then used his radio to trigger a lockdown before the gunmen could reach a larger group of children and staff. Officials said as many as 140 children were in the mosque complex during the attack, but teachers, students and school staff inside were safe.

Mansour Kaziha, who had worked at the mosque for nearly 40 years, was remembered as a longtime cook, handyman and caretaker who also managed the mosque store. He was the first person to call 911. Awad was described by community members as a generous and pious man who helped turn people away from the bullets as the shooting began.

The Islamic Center of San Diego, described as the largest mosque in San Diego County, became the center of a wider fear that is now familiar to many religious communities: whether worship spaces are being singled out because of faith, identity or ideology. The investigation will now test both the gunmen’s apparent motives and the limits of security at houses of worship that serve children, families and elderly members at once.

Police said the gunfire was reported at 11:43 a.m. Monday, and officials are still piecing together the sequence of events. What is already clear is the toll: three men dead, two teenage suspects dead, and a Muslim community in shock as it confronts another attack on a place meant for prayer, care and refuge.