{"id":2520,"date":"2026-05-22T12:39:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/22\/san-diegos-muslim-community-picks-up-the-pieces-after-mass-shooting-were-just-your-neighbors\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T12:39:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:39:41","slug":"san-diegos-muslim-community-picks-up-the-pieces-after-mass-shooting-were-just-your-neighbors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=2520","title":{"rendered":"San Diego\u2019s Muslim community picks up the pieces after mass shooting: \u2018We\u2019re just your neighbors\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1fw0voq\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1j5hrwi\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"305796a7-71b9-40a4-aa29-b1ef64e951ed\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A group of people embrace in a tight huddle near police tape.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/92a7d34ca4b9fb953b2e67d938bdc2b16d6e9d3f\/0_0_4200_2799\/master\/4200.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"309.88928571428573\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Mourners embrace one another near the Islamic Center of San Diego on 19 May 2026, a day after the deadly shooting.<\/span> Photograph: Nelvin C Cepeda\/San Diego U-T\/Zuma Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"305796a7-71b9-40a4-aa29-b1ef64e951ed\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Mourners embrace one another near the Islamic Center of San Diego on 19 May 2026, a day after the deadly shooting.<\/span> Photograph: Nelvin C Cepeda\/San Diego U-T\/Zuma Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">San Diego\u2019s Muslim community picks up the pieces after mass shooting: \u2018We\u2019re just your neighbors\u2019<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-cj4vxp\">\n<p>The Islamic Center of San Diego, rocked by tragedy, opens its doors again to support its congregants and welcome outsiders<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">T<\/span>eacher\u2019s assistant Iman Khatib was administering tests at the elementary school inside the Islamic Center of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/san-diego\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">San Diego<\/a> (ICSD) when she heard the bangs. She locked the classroom door, turned off the lights, silenced her phone and walkie-talkie, and crawled under a desk with her co-worker.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In the preschool classrooms nearby, three- and four-year-olds did the same \u2013 staying completely silent, hiding in corners, following the protocols they had been taught during drills. Outside, the first-grade class was at recess when the first shot rang out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe were so grateful that we made it out alive,\u201d Khatib said two days later. \u201cNone of us are sleeping. We don\u2019t want to relive the things that we saw.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">When police evacuated the staff and students, they passed the body of the security guard, Amin Abdullah, lying on the ground in front of the mosque. When the shooting started, he radioed the lockdown, returned fire, and kept the two teenage gunmen from reaching the approximately 140 children and 20 staff members who were steps away in the school.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"ffe00d69-8edb-4d55-9ca5-11242cfbd0d6\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Two women hug each other \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/79585bf7480556e63826efc8d2cdec506874206a\/0_0_3000_2001\/master\/3000.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.815\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"ffe00d69-8edb-4d55-9ca5-11242cfbd0d6\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Community members embrace after a vigil for victims of the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, on 19 May 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Zoe Meyers\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Also killed were Mansour Kaziha, the manager of the mosque store, and Nader Awad, who was across the street and ran over when he heard the shots; his wife is a kindergarten teacher at the school. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"3ecbc755-6f9a-4c1a-88eb-cf2acc6a0040\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-6 | 6\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1ljij2n\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/20\/security-guard-san-diego-mosque-attack\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">\u2018He sacrificed his life\u2019: security guard killed in San Diego mosque attack hailed as hero<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">At a press conference held the day after the attack, Abdullah\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DYi9m_gSSIk\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">daughter Hawaa stood<\/a> before cameras surrounded by her siblings. \u201cMy dad was my role model and my best friend,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">She shared that she had just received her teaching credentials last week, and her father couldn\u2019t be there because he was working at the center. \u201cHe was even afraid to go take meal breaks because he was afraid something would happen if he stepped away from the Islamic center,\u201d Abdullah told the crowd through tears.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A father of eight who was a convert to Islam, Abdullah had been the first face anyone saw at the ICSD for years. His dedication to the community reflected the ethos of the center. For decades, the ICSD has kept its campus accessible as one of the most deliberately welcoming Muslim institutions in the country despite being tested by anti-Muslim backlash. Now it has been tested by the worst kind of violence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIt\u2019s a very, very close-knit, welcoming community,\u201d said Khatib. \u201cEverybody that has come to ICSD has felt at home here.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"dcr-z9ge1j\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">T<\/span>he Islamic Center of San Diego is the largest mosque in San Diego county, serving a congregation that spans thousands and more than a dozen nationalities. It runs an elementary school from preschool to third grade, holds five daily prayers and has spent the last two decades building one of the most extensive interfaith networks of any Muslim institution in the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The mosque broke ground in 1986 in Clairemont, an inland working-class neighborhood, and opened three years later under the name Masjid Abi Bakr Al Siddiq. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/archives\/la-xpm-1991-01-12-me-7026-story.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">In 1991, as American forces mobilized<\/a> for the Gulf war, someone planted a defective bomb at the mosque. No one was hurt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Taha Hassane, imam and director of the ICSD, arrived in the US from Algeria in 2001 \u2013 mere weeks before the September 11 attacks. Three years later, he would lead a congregation still living in the shadow of the worst terrorist attack on US soil in American history. Hassane\u2019s response was to open the doors of the mosque wider.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe have failed to identify ourselves, to introduce ourselves to our neighbors,\u201d Hassane told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2011\/09\/11\/140370379\/san-diego-muslims-open-doors-amid-scrutiny\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">NPR on the 10th anniversary of the attacks<\/a>. \u201cWe have failed to build strong bridges of understanding and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"bab7e8ab-9d9f-4624-8225-8477d6369890\" data-spacefinder-role=\"showcase\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-5h0uf4\">\n<div id=\"img-3\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Two people kneeling in prayer in a grass-covered field. \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/5cb1a872102cefb16896b5acc023c058615dc144\/0_0_3000_2000\/master\/3000.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.66666666666663\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-3\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"bab7e8ab-9d9f-4624-8225-8477d6369890\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-9ktzqp\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Two people pray during a vigil on the day after the shooting at the ICSD.<\/span> Photograph: Jae C Hong\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He began hosting interfaith meetings, joined civic groups, took a seat on the Muslim American advisory board of the San Diego police department and joined the interfaith advisory board of the San Diego district attorney\u2019s office. He decided that Friday sermons would be conducted in English because no single immigrant language could serve a congregation drawn from across the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">On the morning of the shooting, a group of non-Muslims was inside the center on a tour, learning about Islam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cAmerican Muslim institutions almost uniformly aspire to openness, to be a good neighbor, connecting with others, working on the common good, and it is part of the inheritance of Muslims building religious life inside a pluralist society,\u201d Hatem Albazian, director of the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at UC Berkeley, said. \u201cBut very few have committed to it as completely, as publicly, and for as long as ICSD.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Albazian has known Hassane personally and visited the center many times. \u201cThe doors are literally unlocked between prayers. These are deliberate choices sustained over decades, in the face of considerable institutional and increasing societal pressure to retreat behind security perimeters.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"dcr-z9ge1j\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">T<\/span>hat pressure intensified sharply after 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people, triggering an Israeli military campaign in Gaza that has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jan\/30\/israel-military-gaza-death-toll-broadly-accurate\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">killed more than 70,000 Palestinians<\/a> \u2013 a death toll that advocates say is likely an undercount \u2013 and a wave of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian sentiment across the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Imam Hassane said he saw <a href=\"https:\/\/fox5sandiego.com\/news\/local-news\/san-diego-sees-rise-in-anti-muslim-hate-incidents-report\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">students being bullied at school because of their names,<\/a> because they were Muslim or Palestinian. In 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/fox5sandiego.com\/news\/local-news\/police-investigate-hate-incident-at-islamic-center-of-san-diego-over-flyers\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">more than 50 anti-Muslim fliers were posted<\/a> on trees and fencing across the campus. Hassane and his family faced sustained criticism over social media posts about the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) <a href=\"https:\/\/ca.cair.com\/press-release\/cairs-2026-civil-rights-report-shows-the-right-to-be-different-narrowed-in-the-past-year\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">recorded 8,683 anti-Muslim complaints in 2025<\/a> \u2013 the highest annual total since the organization began tracking in 1996. After the attack on Monday, investigators found hate speech written on one of the weapons the shooters carried and racial ideology in a suicide note.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"8367f546-f401-480e-9ac7-540ccea2b317\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-4\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A sign says \u2018Our Hearts Are With You\u2019 next lit candles.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/33120dbc370e697ab01cc6075c69474244d9e93b\/0_0_3378_2253\/master\/3378.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.7984014209591\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-4\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"8367f546-f401-480e-9ac7-540ccea2b317\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">People pay their respects to the victims of the shooting in front of the ICSD after a vigil in a park on 19 May 2026. <\/span> Photograph: Daniel Cole\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Albazian, who has spent decades documenting Islamophobia in the US, said the threat has changed shape significantly since the years after September 11. The backlash back then, he said, was largely driven by the government \u2013 watchlists, surveillance and immigration enforcement. Street-level violence was real but scattered, and officials at least kept their distance, rhetorically, from vigilantes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">What is happening now is different, he said: \u201cThe rhetoric that was previously confined to the fringe \u2013 that Islam is not a religion, that Muslims are a civilizational threat, that mosques are forward operating bases \u2013 is now spoken openly from the floor of Congress.\u201d The internet, he added, has made radicalization faster and easier than anything that existed two decades ago: two teenagers exchanged manifestos and turned ideology into a mass shooting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">When San Diego\u2019s mayor, Todd Gloria, stepped to the podium at Monday\u2019s press conference, a woman in the crowd cut him off before he could finish his opening remarks. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DYh9PesJGHi\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">This is a direct result of your leadership<\/a>,\u201d she shouted. \u201cOur Muslim brothers and sisters have been talking to you for how long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The outburst captured a frustration years in the making. After 7 October 2023, Gloria declared that \u201cSan Diego stands with the people of Israel\u201d \u2013 a statement Muslim advocates said centered on Israeli suffering while ignoring rising Islamophobia and Palestinian civilian deaths.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIn the last few days, other centers have received threatening voicemails and hate messages,\u201d Tazheen Nizam, executive director of Cair San Diego, said. \u201cThere are 22 other mosques in San Diego county. It is imperative for elected officials to come forward \u2013 not just with the physical aspect of security, but the human and the manpower aspect as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"9f752c79-cc8a-42ee-8dd2-d0b4fead65aa\" data-spacefinder-role=\"showcase\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-5h0uf4\">\n<div id=\"img-5\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A group of women with a childbow their heads in sorrow \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a851e54c40fe533fcdc935c7b15955f515c4d94f\/0_0_3000_2001\/master\/3000.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.815\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-5\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"9f752c79-cc8a-42ee-8dd2-d0b4fead65aa\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-9ktzqp\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Community members gather at a vigil at the ICSD a day after the attack.<\/span> Photograph: Zoe Meyers\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Nizam also raised concerns about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cair.com\/press_releases\/cair-calls-on-dhs-to-restore-muslim-community-access-to-nonprofit-security-grants-after-deadly-terror-attack-on-san-diego-mosque\/?emci=b6ac0485-8054-f111-8fcb-000d3a18905c&amp;emdi=25492490-8354-f111-8fcb-000d3a18905c&amp;ceid=409300\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">federal security funding<\/a>, noting that mosques in San Diego received no money in the last cycle of the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s grant program. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CAIR-Lertter-to-DHS-Secretary-Post-San-Diego-Attack.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">In a letter sent to the DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullin<\/a>, after the shooting, Cair called on the department to brief Muslim community leaders on steps being taken to protect mosques. \u201cThe agencies owe us this support,\u201d Nizam said. \u201cI\u2019m demanding what is rightfully mine. As a taxpayer, these services are ensured to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"dcr-z9ge1j\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">T<\/span>wo days after the shooting, staff members returned to the mosque in pairs to retrieve personal items left behind during the evacuation. They walked through broken doors and past scattered school supplies. The children\u2019s backpacks were still there. Their lunchboxes were still on the playground. Afterward, the staff gathered at the home of the kindergarten teacher \u2013 whose husband was killed in ICSD\u2019s parking lot \u2013 and sat together on her couch. Amin Abdullah\u2019s sister, herself a police officer who had worked security at the mosque, was also there. The staff thanked her for what her family had given the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cBeing together was exactly what we needed,\u201d Khatib said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t realize it until we were just hugging each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The night after the shooting, hundreds of people gathered at the Lindbergh neighborhood park \u2013 just blocks from the mosque \u2013 for an interfaith vigil organized by the ICSD and Cair San Diego. Faith leaders from across the region stood alongside Imam Hassane and elected officials to honor the three men.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cHate and bigotry arise from ignorance,\u201d said Nizham, who has been part of the ICSD\u2019s congregation for years. \u201cCome to an Islamic center. Learn about Muslims. We\u2019re trying to put a roof over our heads, send our kids to school. We\u2019re just your neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">On Wednesday morning, the mosque resumed its five daily prayers, though the administration office, playgrounds and school remain closed. A community fundraiser <a href=\"https:\/\/www.launchgood.com\/v4\/campaign\/support_family_of_amin_abdullah_islamic_society_of_san_diego_martyr?src=internal_search_discover_amin%20abdullah\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">for the victims has raised more than $3m<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Khatib said the staff intended to reunite children with their belongings and was taking steps to move forward, one day at a time. While classes are effectively canceled for the remainder of the year, the staff is committed to ensuring the children are sent off with positive memories to help provide closure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThe ones who pay the ultimate price are the children,\u201d said Khatib. \u201cThis is not a world that children should have to live in.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/san-diego-mosque-shooting\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">San Diego mosque shooting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/series\/building-power\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Building power<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/islam\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Islam<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/gun-crime\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Gun crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-crime\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/san-diego\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">San Diego<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/west-coast\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">West Coast<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/california\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">California<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/features\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">features<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=San%20Diego%E2%80%99s%20Muslim%20community%20picks%20up%20the%20pieces%20after%20mass%20shooting:%20%E2%80%98We%E2%80%99re%20just%20your%20neighbors%E2%80%99&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/22\/islamic-center-of-san-diego-shooting-aftermath?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F22%2Fislamic-center-of-san-diego-shooting-aftermath&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/22\/islamic-center-of-san-diego-shooting-aftermath\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-jwg3xc\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mourners embrace one another near the Islamic Center of San Diego on 19 May 2026, a day after<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}