The Islamic Society of San Diego

Tragedy struck the Muslim community of San Diego in a murderous attack by a pair of armed teenagers who killed three people, including a security guard, before shooting themselves at a mosque on 18 May 2026 in what the city police are investigating as a hate crime. At least one suspect who attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego is reported to have been suicidal, but the attackers also left a racist, anti-Islamic screed that strongly suggests an anti-Islamic motive.

Casualties and Tributes

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Amin Abdullah

Hours before the shooting, the suspects, Cain Clark and Caleb Vasquez, were already on the police radar after a woman reported that her suicidal son had run away from home with weapons. He and his collaborator made for and attacked the Islamic Center, which includes a school in a part of the city with a strong Muslim presence. The police arrived four minutes after the shooting began, but by then five people had been killed.

Among them was a security guard, Amin Abdullah, who lost his life as he tried to intercept the assailants. After this father of eight was killed on the first day of Dhul-Hijjah 1447, Muslims widely shared his fitting last post on the social media outlet Facebook, which is worth reproducing:

“What is success? To many people success is financial stability, good reputation, beauty, etc. As for ME! Wallahi, thumma Wallahi. It is returning back to Allah OUR creator with the same pure soul he loaned me at birth. Having the Mala’ikah of Allahu Ta’ala saying “don’t fear and don’t grieve, but receive the glad tidings of Jannah which you were promised by the Most forgiving and the most merciful”. May Allahu ta’ala grant us Husnal Khatimah, AAAMEEEN”

Nadir Awad

“It is fair to say his actions were heroic,” said San Diego police chief Scott Wahl of Abdullah’s last moments. “Undoubtedly he saved lives today.”

Preacher Uthman Farooq, who knows the family, said that Abdullah “wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard.”

The Islamic Center hailed Abdullah as “a courageous man who put himself on the line of the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community.”

The other casualties, Nadir Awad and Mansoor Kaziha, were also saluted for their courage by members of the community. Asim Billoo described Kaziha, also known as Abul-Ez, as “the caretaker of our community” in a public salute: “When danger arrived at our school, he did not hesitate. He shielded our children from the shooters, placing his life between them and harm. He lived his life serving us, and he left this world protecting our future.”

Mansour Kaziha (Abu’l Izz)

Of Awad, Billoo added, “Uncle Nadir lived his life as a devoted neighbor to the house of Allah, and today, he proved the depth of that devotion. Hearing the danger, he ran from the safety of his own home toward the masjid, rushing to apprehend the murderers and save the children. We pray Allah grants him the highest rank as a neighbor of Allah ﷻ in Jannah.”

The efforts of these martyrs saved the lives of other worshippers, many of whom were children. Witnesses testified to the terror of the encounter, where Awad’s wife and the husband of the kindergarten teacher also rushed to protect the children. Teacher Iman Khatib-Villarreal paid tribute to the “real men” who sacrificed their lives to protect others, and saluted “the best start to every morning…Brother Amin Abdullah, the truthful servant of Allah as his name translates.”

Costs of Islamophobia

“We are considering this a hate crime until it’s not,” said Wahl. This was based at least in part on the incendiary rhetoric found in the killers’ car, which mentioned “racial pride”, dealt in anti-Islamic rhetoric, and glorified Brendan Tarrant, the Australian mass murderer who massacred 51 Muslims at a New Zealand mosque in 2019: a particularly savage reminder of the consequences of Islamophobic rhetoric that has only spiralled in the mid-2010s.

Mosque director and imam Taha Hassane said, “It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship. Our Islamic centre is a place of worship.”

There has been a surge in anti-Muslim rhetoric in recent years, much of it driven by pro-Israel agitators such as Laura Loomer, a far-right propagandist who has the ear of Donald Trump. In the aftermath of the attack, Loomer shared a 2023 social media post by Hassane’s wife, which condemned Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, casting doubt on both the very real murders at San Diego and vilifying the congregation with what came dangerously close to incitement:

For his part Trump, who has not hesitated to join in anti-Muslim rhetoric when it suits him, particularly against such communities as Somali-Americans, feebly described the attack as “a terrible situation”.

While San Diego mayor Todd Gloria condemned the attack and expressed sympathy with the city’s Muslim community, an unnamed protester was unconvinced. “Our Muslim brothers and sisters have been talking to you for how long?” she demanded, accusing him of emboldening “Zionist propaganda” and would “keep doing it as long as it lines your ****ing pockets, won’t it. Do something!” It is worth noting that much of the anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States, as in Europe, has been systematically pushed by pro-Israel networks as well as by organs of the Israeli state.

Tazheen Nizam, the San Diego head for advocacy group Council of American-Islamic Relations, sent condolences to the community, saying, “No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school.”

Politicians and elected officials condemned the attack. San Diego congresswoman Sara Jacobs wrote, “I’m devastated for those students, worshippers, and the Clairemont community. Everyone should be able to pray, worship, and learn in peace.”

California governor Gavin Newsom also sent condolences: “California sends our deepest condolences to the families and communities impacted by today’s shooting. Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives…To the San Diego Muslim community: California stands with you.”

Reactions have come from beyond California: Maryland governor Wes Moore wrote, “Islamophobia has no home in Maryland and we stand with our communities in their time of uncertainty and concern.”

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, perhaps the most visible Muslim American politician of recent years, promised to beef up reinforce security for mosques in his city, adding, “Islamophobia endangers Muslim communities across this country. We must confront it directly and stand together against the politics of fear and division.” Mamdani’s successful election campaign in 2025 had withstood a barrage of particularly pointed, vitriolic anti-Muslim rhetoric that has yet to entirely ebb.

Like other episodes of anti-Muslim violence that have spiralled in recent years, the attack in San Diego demonstrated the extreme endpoint of such rhetoric.