And the folks. It is Tuesday, May nineteenth, and the shooting itself, the incident was frightening enough, but this morning we're getting more and more, yes, frightening and disturbing details about the deadly mosque shooting in San Diego. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Roobes. Three dead, the two suspects dead. The thing that's really really amazing to think, Robes, is that they were looking for these two guys. Police were for hours before the shooting ever started.
That's one of the details we're getting. This story is just a head scratcher, right.
That was a fascinating part of this that the seventeen year old suspects mom called nine to one one on Monday morning at nine forty two am. They have the time stamp. The shooting took place almost exactly two hours later. For those two hours, police were trying to find her son, who she described as suicidal, dressed in all camo. He had taken her vehicle, and he had taken three guns from the home, and she told police, I think something bad's about to happen.
Fair to say this was a desperate, frantic search around San Diego for hours, and I guess robes the community didn't even know the threat necessarily was out there. I don't know what police. Police did everything. It sounds like they could to stop this before. They didn't know what the guys were up to, and they were trying to
track them down. We'll get into that a little more, but folks, on this Tuesday morning, we have confirmation, yes, three people were killed at the largest mosque in San Diego yesterday when two young men, both teenagers, opened fire at that mosque. So let's go through robes and how this kind of played out. To start with that nine to one to one call, the mom alerted police, we
got a problem and it was serious enough. Did she from your understanding, was she saying he's suicidal or she thought he was actually up to something else.
She thought it was both.
He left behind a suicide night, so she said, I have a suicide note. He's suicidal, but he has a friend with him, and that was the puzzling thing.
She called it a companion.
So we now know it was an eighteen year old who actually attended the high school that's about a mile from the mosque, and so when police were putting together who he was with that. Both of the teens were dressed in camel, they had access to at least three weapons and a vehicle, and were suicidal. It seems strange if two people together aren't usually suicidal together. So she even said, I think something bad's about to happen.
So you know where.
Police went first, the high school, the local high school, because the eighteen year old attended there. The seventeen year old was being schooled at home. He was doing a online high school course. So they actually tried to track the vehicle using the license plates and they're literally going across as you pointed out San Diego, trying to find this vehicle and trying to find these two teenagers.
And then lo and behol what time exactly eleven forty.
Two was it forty three?
Police were notified of an active shooter at the Islamic Center.
So this Islamic Center, again the largest in San Diego. But this is a place that has a school there for kids. It's a community center. They do prayers all day, five times a day. I do believe there that they're held. So this is a very active open It's a community center sitting in right in the community of a very vibrant, if you will community. It's a neighborhood. Well, I'm saying it's a quite frankly, it's a nice San Diego neighborhood, a typical what you think of you spend some time
at sick gorgeous. It's gorgeous out there. So gunfire rings out in robes for a while. During the coverage, we kept seeing and police were kept saying, we have an active shooter. We believe it's contained or neutralized was the word they were using, But it seemed as if for a little while that the shooter was still somewhere on that campus. They were only saying one shooter sopes. All eyes were on what's going on in that building, and it turns out they weren't even in the building.
Right. This was crazy. So that call came in at eleven forty three. It's pretty impressive.
Police were there at the center by eleven forty seven, So four minutes later they were there, and we now know pretty much immediately they found three victims right outside the mosque, but they don't know where the shooter or shooters are, so they actually had to go through room through room. They evacuated all those sweet little kids which we've seen the images of you said that broke your heart today.
I do not know why I have mornings sometimes I'm a little more tired, a little more emotional, but whatever reason robes the image of those kids holding hands like, trying to be escorted to safety because of bullets because somebody hates Muslims. They're five. I mean, that's something about it. We see it here in New York all the time with all the schools and whatnot, all the kids walking
down the street together. They're attached, but it's just you stop every time you go, oh, they're so cuteable, it's so cute to see that being done. I don't know why that messed me up. To see that being done for kids who're having to get away from bullets for whatever reason messed me up.
You're crying right now again.
But that is one of those heartbreaking moments because they're just so sweet and innocent, and they're so they're little sponges and they can be shaped into anything and anyone, and to think that this is one of probably going to be their earliest memory, and a traumatic one at that, and this is life changing to live through something like this, to experience something like this. It's incredibly sad, and when we get into who these victims.
Are, it's going to break your heart a little bit more.
But we know that the officers were going from room to room, they were evacuating all those sweet little kids and their teachers and everyone who was there in the center, and then all of a sudden, a landscaper is shot at from a vehicle, and this is pretty miraculous.
He's they he would have died, police say they believe if he hadn't been wearing a helmet.
So this is where the story, at least as far as the investigation goes, or the active I guess pursuit of suspects takes a turn because poliefs are focused on the mosque. We're watching the live images on television online. You got police surrounding this place full tactical gear looking for the suspect in the mosque. When they get a report a few blocks away there's another shooting, right, and.
So they're like, what's happening.
So then they head to that area just a short distance away, and they find the vehicle that they've been looking for for the last couple of hours with the two suspects inside, with self inflicted gunshot wounds. And look, police have said that they have found hate speech crawled on a scrawled.
On one of the weapons.
That suicide note was back at the seventeen year old home, and they say they found writings containing racial pride.
That's how they described it.
They said they would give more details later, but they were just letting reporters know and folks know that, Yes, they are investigating this as a hate crime because they have very specific reason too.
There you said, I mean, I think the first press conference he suggested that this is going to be looked at as a hate crime until otherwise noted. Look, is it Islamic center Robes, Yes, we could talk about Islamophobia in this country. That's really I guess we got more familiar with it after nine to eleven, and it continues with a lot of rhetoric. We see it has gotten worse. We'll get into that in just a moment. But why
these two why teenagers? Why do this first? Why shoot at a landscaper and then drive a little way longer and kill yourselves. It's a bizarre. So that part, I guess that was it. Robes. The story kind of really really quickly turned into what the hell when we see what we're arguably robes accustomed to seeing an active shooter situation, we see that goes from a landscaper being shot at to a car abandoned in the middle of the road with two dead teenagers. What in the hell now? The
teenager part even adds to some mystery. And I don't know if it happened to you too, Rose, but I Cleebold and Columbine partners, and these things.
Came to mar their obviously to just go to the links that they went to to do what they did, but then to have a co conspirator, have someone do it with you, and then have a packed to die by suicide at the end, it just seems so far fetched. It doesn't seem possible. And then to see whose lives they took. We're getting word from KTLA is doing some reporting there on the ground, and they've been there on the community and family members have let them know a
little bit about some of the victims. Police have not given the official information, but we do know, and a lot has been said about the security guard. We even heard police talk about the security guard saying he absolutely saved lives. He was heroic in his final act and his name was a Mean Abdullah, father of eight. Think about that, how many lives were changed in that split second. And he was there trying to protect this mosque and
he gave his life doing so. And there were two other staff members who were also killed, one who worked in the center's food store, and then a teacher. And kat Katla got this incredible story. This teacher actually was at home, he lived across the street.
He heard gun a gunfire ring out.
He ran towards the school and he said it was They said it was because his wife was working there, and he got so afraid that she might be in trouble. So you hear about this brave husband who's running and rushing towards the gunfire because he knows his wife is inside, and he was shot and killed.
What was the I don't think. I didn't read anywhere he had a military background or anything, right, a police background we don't know much about. But I say that.
Because it looks military.
Well, it was the first thing that came to mind. That's what police are supposed to be trained to do. You hear gunfire and you run towards it. The rest of us are trained to hear it and run away. But what is the exception.
When someone you love is inside boom and in harm's way?
That's it.
I just that that moved me to think this.
He was safe in his home, his wife actually was okay, okay, and he ran towards the gunfire to protect her. Oh that like gutted me when I read that this morning.
Because it's two teenagers. What mad at Muslims for what we say we got to do better, but man, we keep doing worse. Sometimes we feel these stories are just awful because of what.
Because of what I know.
So when we come back, we're going to talk a little bit about what we know of these suspects. Not going to give their names because we really just don't want to give them any credit for what they did.
So it's kind of a deliberate choice.
A lot of news organizations do that, and we've done that for some time as well, and then we will talk about it. You mentioned Muslim discrimination at an all time high, and welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ. We are talking about that horrific shooting at the largest mosque in San Diego, the Islamic center
of San Diego. Three people were killed a security guard, someone who worked in the food store there, and a teacher, and that loss of life is just gutting when you hear their stories, who these men were, how they lived their lives, and then those images of those children rushed out of that center as two teenagers, apparently motivated by hate, went in to do as much damage as possible, shot a lance, shot at a landscaper on their way out,
and then killed themselves in the seventeen year old Moms BMD.
We say this oftentimes, and I know it happens. You don't necessarily hear about it in mainstream news. You're not going to see it on broadcast network today. But when these stories happen, like, why didn't you start with yourself?
Oh, my goodness, the plan I have thought that every.
Time to die by suicide, start with you. And why you have to take out a husband, take out a father of eight?
Why why ensuring your spot? And hell, I don't know.
Again, we don't make a big deal, but I just you said it to me. We had a quick discussion that seventeen and eighteen year old. I don't think officially I've been identified by police, but their names are confirmed through yes several sources. Well, why it's fine to know the name. Well know that you can find the names if you want to, but yeah.
It is you just don't you know.
It's I think it started when you when we initially covered Columbine all those years ago, and you said, Dylan Cleebeld.
You remember these names, yep.
And they live on in infamy and they inspire copycats. They look up to these people disgustingly, and you almost place their names in history, which is part of perhaps why some of these folks go out the way they do, because they want to be remembered and maybe even beloved by some for the I guess the motivation of why they did what they did so yet to give their names any weight is just for us, not something we want to do. But the seventeen year old I thought
this was interesting. He obviously he had some issues. He had been at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, but in twenty twenty one he.
Was switched to online learning.
He went to the Eye High Virtual Academy, so he was home schooled basically, or at least he was doing it online. But it's interesting Madison High School, which is where his Cohort went he actually was a star member of the wrestling team the year before one first place, and folks who were there on the wrestling team with him said he was a good kid.
He was always just trying to fit in and find friends.
Never heard him say anything against Muslim zero.
Warning signs, So okay, that's now. That is another added bizarre element to this story. Robes Oftentimes there is some kind of a warning sign. He was say yeah he was this yet like it traces back and somebody didn't speak up when they heard something this one good kids.
Yes, maybe it will it will find out something that we don't know now.
But he was on track to graduate this year. He had no disciplinary history, so his life was beginning. He was about to go out in the world.
His grandparents spoke briefly to some reporters and yes, they said he was a good kid, which this is a seventeen years seventeen year old.
They said he was a good kid. They said he was.
They were in shock, and they added were very sorry for what happened. I mean, look, his family was there in San Diego. His mother called nine one one concerned about her son. His grandparents lived nearby. It doesn't make any sense. And the eighteen year old, we don't know a lot of about him, only that he was a student at Madison High School, so he was eighteen. I'm assuming he was a senior again about to start his life.
It just doesn't make any sense. But they had apparently scrawled we don't know what the words were exactly, some rhetoric on some of the weapons.
There was some racial pride writings in the vehicle.
And that's the term they're using, racial pride.
Racial pride.
You can go to whatever conclusion you want what that might suggest.
There's a picture of a gas can outside of the vehicle that had basically SS like Hitler.
So yes, there seems to be some.
Very disturbing writing and imagery that was left behind that police will piece together and I'm sure we'll get more details on that. But speaking to the Muslim discrimination babe, you know what, this makes sense. Discrimination reports surged since the Gaza War in twenty twenty three.
Wow, makes sense.
The American Islamic Relations Group they study and they have been tracing anti Muslim discrimination since nineteen ninety six. Last year, by far record setting year for discrimination complaints. There were more than eighty six hundred discrimination complaints, and that apparently was significantly higher than any other year.
But it's just been getting worse, and this certainly won't.
Help seventeen and eighteen. What happens. I just wonder what happens ropes and we always look for answers after these things, and what do we do. I haven't seen the debates in the back and forth and the conversation that's being had around this, but you can already guess what it's like. You can already guess what they're saying and what people are saying. There's nothing else to be said other than this is awful. It's tragic. Stop attacking people based on
their religion. Okay, that should be the end of the story.
Lumping all people like making innocent people pay for some hatred you have towards I don't know, but certainly not the people you killed.
Certainly not the people you killed.
There are so many tributes to this security guard already online, people talking about him.
Oh my goodness.
I was watching video of him, like smiling and fist bumping people when they walked into the center.
He was just joyful. He stood outside underneath this tent and he looked like a badass.
He had a vest, he looked military to me and was just you could see the warmth on his face.
You could see the kindness.
In his face, and it just breaks your heart to think that he had to pay with his life.
Over what because somebody's mad at Muslims. This today, this investigation really is just getting going. We certainly are expecting some updates today from authorities, but for now to teenagers suicide. Two teenagers dead by suicide after first killing three people at the largest Muslim center in San Diego, the largest mosque there, and just another one rogues. We didn't even put together the numbers on shootings and mass shooting things for this year. It's depressing as hell, it is. The
folks just wanted to give you this morning update. A lot of developments and new information came in overnight, but we appreciate you, as always spending some time with us. We are just getting started on this day and on this news feed. There is a lot of news this morning, so we always appreciate you spending some time with us. On behalf of my dear Amy Robot, I'm TJ. Holmes. We'll talk to Y'allson