TEHRAN — Three people were killed in a brutal Islamophobic terror attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, California, on Monday, when two teenage gunmen opened fire before dying by apparent suicide, leaving a community reeling and sparking urgent warnings about rising anti-Muslim hatred in the United States.

The assailants, identified as 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vasquez, began firing near midday outside the mosque complex, which also houses a school.

Their rampage could have claimed far more lives thanks to Amin Abdullah, a heroic security guard who sacrificed his own life shielding children and staff inside.

Anti-Islamic writings recovered from the scene confirm the attack was driven by hate, and police have officially launched a hate-crime investigation.  

This massacre is the lethal culmination of years of surging Islamophobia fueled by inflammatory political rhetoric, online radicalization, and persistent systemic neglect.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has documented record-high discrimination complaints, warning that Muslim Americans are increasingly targeted as existential threats rather than recognized as fellow citizens. The U.S.’ failure to decisively confront anti-Muslim bigotry continues to endanger innocent lives.

The grief was deepened by the cruelty of some public figures. Trump-aligned Zionist activist Laura Loomer, long known for her anti-Muslim rhetoric, intensified the horror by posting: “The mosque that was ‘supposedly’ shot up today. Just remember the people who attend this mosque want us all to be killed.” She also called for the mosque to be raided by the FBI and immigration authorities.

Many condemned Loomer’s remarks as dehumanizing and dangerous, pointing out that she echoes the very hatred that drove the shooters.

Imam Taha Hassane of the Islamic Center reminded the nation that the mosque remains a sanctuary of peace, not a target.