by Imtiaz Popat
Three Muslim men were killed after two gunmen opened fire outside the Islamic Centre of San Diego on Monday morning, in what police are investigating as a possible anti-Muslim hate crime. The attackers, aged 17 and 19, were later found dead several blocks away from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Inside the mosque complex was a school filled with children, who were evacuated safely as chaos unfolded. Among those killed was Amin Abdullah, a security guard described by community members as a hero after reportedly stopping the attackers from entering further into the mosque, potentially saving dozens of lives.
Amin Abdullah, a father of eight. A convert to Islam chose to protect the mosque after witnessing the horror of the Christchurch terror attack in 2019. He was killed during the most blessed days of the Islamic year while guarding the Islamic Center of San Diego. The shooting left five people dead. Amin helped save children, worshippers, and countless families from unimaginable grief. Only two weeks earlier, Amin had shared a prayer online. He asked Allah to meet Him with a pure soul, to grant him a noble death, and to make him among those welcomed by the angels with the words: “Do not fear and do not grieve.
The attack has reignited debate over Islamophobia and the language used by authorities and political leaders following violence targeting Muslims. US President Donald Trump called the incident “terrible” but did not publicly refer to Muslims, Islamophobia, or terrorism.
Police described the shooting as an “active shooter incident” and referred to the victims as “deceased,” drawing criticism online from those who argued the language downplayed the severity of the attack. Far-right troll Laura Loomer also faced backlash after posting inflammatory remarks about Muslims following the shooting. Muslim advocates say the tragedy reflects a wider climate of anti-Muslim hostility that has become increasingly normalised across Western societies.
The two teenagers are from the USA. Their names are Kane Clark and Caleb or Jakub Velasquez, high school students at Madison High School, aged 17 and 18. They promoted white supremacist and far-right ideas, and their beliefs were openly hostile toward Islam and Muslims. On Monday morning, they agreed together, took a hunting rifle from their homes, and headed to the Islamic Center in San Diego — the largest mosque and Islamic school there. They opened random fire on the people standing outside. The situation could have become far worse if it weren’t for the security guard, “Amin Abdullah,” who stood between them and the center, sacrificing himself and preventing the attack from turning into a full-scale massacre.
The two teenagers caused the deaths of three people, including the heroic guard. Afterwards, they took their own lives inside the car they were in. When the car was searched, police reportedly found a container bearing the symbol of the German SS and a message containing explicit insults against our religion.
Despite all that, what they did was classified as a “hate crime,” as if they had merely vandalized a wall or something similar. The simple reason: the suspects were not Arab, not people of color, and not bearded Muslims. Had the situation been reversed, there would have been national mourning, flags lowered, presidential speeches, nonstop media coverage, condolences from world leaders, politicians condemning the attack, and the usual narrative that wins white voters.
But apparently this time they “got lucky” because the attackers were considered white, so the case was softened into “hate crime,” and everyone moved on. The tragic irony is that these two young men are actually Latino, not ethnically white. It’s an identity crisis.
Following San Diego Islamic Center’s deadly shooting, CAIR-Chicago’s Executive Director, Ahmed Rehab, is calling on elected officials to hold themselves accountable for the normalization of hate speech in the public sphere.
“We can ask them to be true American leaders—to stand up against any kind of otherizing, dehumanizing, hate-mongering—from any peers that they might have,” Rehab said.
