Shooting at San Diego mosque comes amid rising reports of anti-Muslim discrimination
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.
While police in San Diego said there was no specific threat to the mosque in a suicide note left by one of the suspects, it did contain writings about racial pride, multiple law enforcement sources told CNN.
CAIR’s San Diego chapter said it condemned the “horrifying act of violence” that left three people dead.
“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” Tazheen Nizam, the executive director of CAIR-San Diego said in a statement.
