San Diego Mosque Shooters Identified; Hate Crime Investigation Underway

17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Velasquez have been identified as the shooters who went on a rampage outside a San Diego mosque Monday. Both of them died from self-inflicted wounds.

According to reports, Clark was a standout wrestler and the incident stunned his family members as they were completely in dark. "We are very sorry for what happened. We know as much as you do. It's a shock," grandfather David Clark said.

Hours before the attack, Clark's mother called the police, reporting that both her son and the car were missing. Anti-Islamic writings were found in the suspects’ vehicle and “hate speech” was written on the firearms used in the shooting. A shotgun and gas can with an “SS” sticker on the side were located at the scene where the gunmen’s bodies were discovered. The “SS” sticker appears to represent the Schutzstaffel, the paramilitary organization led by Heinrich Himmler under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany. A suicide note that contained writings about racial pride was also found.

After Clark's mother called the cops, the police began to elevate the level of the threat. The mother said Clark was suicidal and reported that several of her weapons were missing. She said her son was with a companion and they were dressed in camo.

The security guard who was killed in the shooting has been identified as Amin Abdullah. A fundraiser set up for him has collected $1.4 million as of now. "He wasn’t just a guard," the campaign page reads. "He was the first face of that community to anyone who came through the door — and the last line of defense when it mattered most." Abdullah was the father of eight children

The deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, which police are investigating as a hate crime, comes amid reports of increasing Islamophobic incidents across the US. Last year, the Council on American-Islamic Relations received 8,683 anti-Muslim discrimination complaints – the highest figure since it started compiling the data in 1996 – the group said in its annual report. The discrimination complaints have surged since the war in Gaza began in 2023, the group has said.

San Diego mayor Todd Gloria heckled

San Diego mayor Todd Gloria was interrupted and heckled during a news conference held hours after the shooting at the mosque. Before Gloria delivered a public statement, a woman in the audience shouted at him and blamed him for the attack, saying it was a “direct result” of his leadership. "You emboldened Zionist propaganda. And you’ll keep doing it as long as it lines with your f*cking pockets," the woman said.

At the news conference, Gloria said: "Hate has no home in San Diego. Islamophobia has no home in San Diego. An attack on any San Diegan is an attack on all San Diegans, and we will not stand for it."