A day after gunmen killed three people outside a mosque in San Diego, Muslim leaders in Los Angeles said the attack was fueled by a growing climate of Islamophobia in America.
Local officials pledged increased security around places of worship as the investigation continues into the mass shooting.
The shooters, ages 17 and 18, opened fire outside the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday morning in what authorities are investigating as a hate crime. Federal investigators said the two met online and shared writings expressing hatred toward Muslims, Jews and other minority groups. Authorities also recovered anti-Islamic writings and messages carved into their weapons, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Both gunmen were later found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
In Los Angeles, Muslim community leaders on Tuesday condemned what they described as the normalization of anti-Muslim rhetoric nationwide.
Omar Ricci, spokesperson for the Islamic Center of Southern California, said the attack did not happen in isolation.
“Even the perpetrators of the crime were victims,” he said, “of what we call and is well-known to us in the Muslim community, the industry of Islamophobia. An industry that deliberately creates fear and division.”
“This is not a mysterious situation,” Ricci said. “The Islamophobic industry that seeks to create fear of Muslims and tell the rest of America that Islam and Muslims are incompatible with the society in which we live — it has grown in the past year.”
Other Muslim leaders said the shooting reflects a broader national climate in which Muslims and other minority groups are increasingly portrayed as threats.
Khalid Hudson of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in LA said the attack should not be viewed as an isolated act carried out by two young men.
“We have to address the root cause: publicly acceptable anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric,” he said at a Tuesday press conference at the Islamic Center of Southern California in Koreatown,
Local officials said law enforcement agencies across Los Angeles County have increased patrols around mosques and other places of worship following the shooting.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the attack “grossly unacceptable” and noted that it came as Muslims enter a sacred period of prayer and reflection during the month of Dhul Hijjah.
“I’ve been in close coordination with LAPD to enhance security specifically around mosques,” Bass said. “And across Los Angeles, we will do everything to keep you safe.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna urged residents to report warning signs of extremist violence before attacks occur.
“If you hear something, if you see something, and in this day and age, if you read something, you have to share it with us,” Luna said. “This could literally save dozens of people’s lives.”
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the shooting could have been much worse. The Islamic Center includes both a mosque and a school for students ages 5 and up, according to the Associated Press.
Authorities commended the actions of Amin Abdullah, a security guard who defended the center before he was fatally shot during a shootout with the gunmen. Abdullah also radioed staff members to place the center on lockdown, according to officials.
Authorities identified the other two victims as Nader Awad and Mansour Kaziha, who were shot outside the mosque.
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman praised Abdullah’s bravery.
“We need to speak the name of Amin Abdullah, while never speaking the names of his killers,” Hochman said.
“We cannot wait until the bullets are fired to take hatred seriously,” he added. “I want every resident in Los Angeles County to know that this office, in connection with this community and law enforcement, will continue to aggressively prosecute hate crimes wherever and whenever they occur.”
Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, also criticized recent federal policies placing political conditions on security grants for mosques. The Department of Homeland Security pulled federal funding from places of worship “with alleged affiliations to terrorist activities” according to reporting from Fox News.
“I just want to give one message to those that are trying to marginalize, deport, stigmatize, expel Muslims from America,” Al-Marayati said at Tuesday’s news conference. “America is our home. We are not going anywhere.”
