'We are resilient': As San Diego's Muslim community reels from mosque shooting, it refuses to be intimidated

At astir 11:40 section time, Nawal A-Nouri received a WhatsApp message, notifying her of an progressive shooter astatine her seven-year-old daughter's schoolhouse astatine the Islamic Center of San Diego - wherever two gunman opened fire connected Monday, sidesplitting 3 successful what has been called a hatred crime.

"It wholly didn't deed maine that it was an progressive shooter the mode they had described it. I was decidedly successful a authorities of shock, and beauteous frozen astatine home," she said.

Her hubby Omar Al-Nouri, a vascular surgeon successful the neighbouring metropolis of La Jolla, received the aforesaid connection and rushed down to the school. He told the BBC helium was some overwhelmed and comforted by the monolithic constabulary beingness erstwhile helium arrived astatine the centre, San Diego County's 2nd largest mosque, which besides houses a superior school.

"I'm not doing truthful good," Omar Al-Nouri said. "I conscionable had a imaginativeness successful my caput of the shooters going into the schoolhouse and encountering my kid oregon different child, I conscionable can't get that imaginativeness retired of my head."

The onslaught has sent shockwaves done the assemblage - waves of grief and panic - but besides a jolt towards unity aft tragedy, a telephone to travel unneurotic to condemn hateful rhetoric against Muslims and besides to clasp and observe the lives mislaid astatine the thriving centre.

Thousands of radical from crossed California and the US travelled to a nationalist ceremonial supplication present connected Thursday, to basal successful solidarity with the Muslim assemblage and commune with the families of the victims.

A information guard, the hubby of a teacher astatine the schoolhouse and a beloved shopkeeper who called 911 were fatally shot earlier 1 of the suspects turned a weapon connected his companion and past killed himself, arsenic constabulary closed successful connected their car successful the residential Clairemont neighborhood.

"Even if you expect astatine immoderate constituent the worst mightiness happen, you hole for it, but you ne'er expect it to happen," says Tazheen Nizam of the San Diego section of the Council connected American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civilian liberties advocacy organisation successful the US.

"Nobody expected thing of this gravity to instrumentality place," she tells the BBC. "We had 1 information guard. The gross was open."

Tucked into a residential neighbourhood disconnected of a bustling thoroughfare, the centre is flanked by single-family homes, schools, a parkland and places of worship. Many Muslims - including caller migrants, young families and elder generations - unrecorded successful the area.

Dr Muhammad Rahman, 1 of those residents, has 2 children who be the centre's school. He was astatine location erstwhile helium was notified that an progressive shooter was connected campus. His children were connected the playground during the shooting.

"The parents are grieving. We are each devastated. All praise beryllium to Allah," helium tells the BBC astatine the ceremonial prayers, wherever helium is helping with assemblage control. "God's mercy saved each these kids."

He adds: "We are strong. We are resilient. We volition determination forward. That is our spot arsenic a community. It volition makes america stronger arsenic a community."

The Islamic Center of San Diego is simply a pillar of the Muslim community, which makes up little than 1% of the colonisation successful the San Diego metro area, according to a Pew Research survey from 2023-24.

Officials said the 2 suspects were motivated by a "broad hatred" and had been radicalised online. Investigators recovered a manifesto belonging to the pair, aged 17 and 18, that contained Islamophobic, anti-semitic and misogynistic writings.

The FBI besides recovered 30 guns and a crossbow from 3 country residences associated with the teens, who person not been named publically by instrumentality enforcement.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said the onslaught is "being afloat investigated arsenic a white-supremacist hatred crime".

Authorities person credited exigency protocols, unit grooming and coordinated effect procedures with redeeming 140 children and unit connected campus.

The monolithic crowds who gathered successful a parkland adjacent San Diego State University's Snapdragon Stadium connected Thursday brought comfortableness to Ali Alshahin, who has children astatine the centre's school. Together, nether the agleam California sun, they prayed Salat al-Janazah and paid respect to the victims, Amin Abdullah, Nadir Awad and Mansour Kaziha.

"They are the crushed my kids are live today," helium tells the BBC of the three, adding his children utilized to telephone Abdullah "Uncle Policeman".

He, similar different mothers and fathers here, hopes this calamity volition animate alteration nationwide erstwhile it comes to weapon violence.

"No kid should endure that - locomotion by dormant bodies and blood," helium says.

A doc who grew up successful and works successful San Diego, Aayeh Fatayerji, tells the BBC she attended the supplication to "stand successful solidarity with the assemblage aft this despicable enactment of hate".

She describes the assemblage arsenic some "tight-knit" and diverse, saying it brings unneurotic "people from each countries - radical who are calved present successful America arsenic good arsenic radical who person immigrated here."

"It's a precise welcoming metropolis for a batch of cultures," she says. "It's a peaceful city, it's a beauteous city. We invited everybody."

On Tuesday, a assemblage vigil astatine Lindbergh Neighborhood Park adjacent the centre was besides afloat of people, with hundreds turning up and a bid of speakers speaking warmly of their fallen "brothers" successful the faith.

Many expressed gratitude for Amin Abdullah, the centre's information defender who has been hailed arsenic a leader for confronting the gunmen and initiating lockdown protocols believed to person prevented a greater nonaccomplishment of life.

Abdullah's girl Hawaa Abdullah, surrounded by her 7 siblings during a media quality connected Tuesday, said their begetter would privation the assemblage to basal unneurotic arsenic one.

"He wants each of america to beryllium better, careless of who we are, what we place as," she said. "He wants america to beryllium better, and that's precisely what I, my family, and I anticipation each azygous different idiosyncratic present strives to bash each azygous time - marque this satellite a amended place."

Imam Taha Hassane, the manager of the Islamic Center of San Diego, said the centre is utilized to receiving hatred message and messages and helium has seen radical cursing erstwhile they thrust by, but helium ne'er expected "such a horrible" transgression to occur.

"I never, ever expected an progressive shooter coming to our location of worship," helium tells the BBC aft the ceremonial prayers. "I cognize what's going connected successful the world. I person seen shootings taking spot successful houses of worship, schools, malls. But happening here? It ne'er came done my mind."

President of the Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego Abdullah Tahiri, though, said helium cannot accidental helium is surprised, adjacent portion helium is horrified. He blamed the bloodshed connected a heated governmental clime that has "tolerated, normalised, federalised, institutionalised, routinised, and actively weaponised" anti-Muslim sentiment for years.

"When figures successful the highest halls of the authorities dehumanise Muslims, overgarment our institutions arsenic threats, and dainty our assemblage with suspicion, they laic the groundwork for real-world unit we witnessed," helium said astatine a media league connected Tuesday.

Tahiri and others astatine the lawsuit said the assemblage volition not beryllium intimidated.

"We volition mourn, we volition heal, and we volition proceed to basal strong, rooted successful justice, dignity and an unwavering enactment and religion successful our spiritual traditions," helium said.

Another imam astatine the centre, Dr Saad Eldegewi, said the centre supports the full community, not conscionable Muslims.

"We're not going to stop," helium said. "We'll determination forward. This is our nation. This is our country. We are present to dispersed love."

"Hate code leads to hatred crimes. Hate code leads to terrorism, extremism and we are present to combat each that successful each ineligible ways. In each peaceful ways."

Two days aft the shooting, the mosque re-opened for regular prayers. The medication office, playgrounds and different parts of the analyzable stay closed until further notice.

The schoolhouse semester was astir over, but ended aboriginal successful the aftermath of the attack.

A makeshift memorial has been erected connected the sidewalk successful beforehand of the centre's gates and constabulary cars inactive patrol the country surrounding the confederate California institution.

Omar Al-Nouri returned to the schoolhouse with his daughter, Maya, to prime up her backpack.

It had taken astir 5 hours aft the shooting to reunite with Maya, who had joined astir 20 children successful her people successful a lockdown process they had practised. She recalled to her parents however constabulary swarmed the schoolhouse and broke down their door, and however they lined up to get to safety.

"The teacher said that wide the kids listened and they did great," Nawal Al-Nouri said. "And that benignant of similar broke my bosom successful a way, due to the fact that I'm reasoning of the teachers, and however frightened they were. And they're truly arrogant of the students."

"I was conscionable truly arrogant of her," Omar Al-Nouri added.

"My biggest fearfulness and interest is, I conscionable don't privation her to beryllium acrophobic of going backmost to school, going backmost to the masjid, to the mosque."