JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump on Monday described the shooting incident at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD), San Diego, California as a 'horrible situation'.
Speaking to reporters after being briefed on the latest developments, President Trump said federal and local officials were actively assessing the incident and gathering additional information.
"They are giving briefings on that and it's a terrible situation. I've been given some initial information, but we'll go back and look at it very carefully," President Trump told reporters at the White House, Anadolu (19/5) reported.
President Trump's statement came after five people, including two suspected shooters, were killed in a shooting incident in the center in the Clairemont neighborhood on Monday.
Three people were killed in a shooting at an Islamic Center, a complex that includes a mosque and an Islamic school in San Diego, in an attack allegedly motivated by hatred, US authorities said.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the two shooters in Monday's shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD) in southern California were also found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
"Because of its location in the center of Islam, we consider this a hate crime until proven otherwise," Wahl told reporters, launching Al Jazeera.
The suspects are two men, believed to be aged 17 and 19, according to the police chief.
Further, Wahl explained, one of the victims was a security officer at the Islamic center, who played a crucial role in ensuring that the incident did not get worse.
He added that authorities were investigating and trying to "find out and reconstruct what caused this incident".
The three victims were adults. According to authorities, the children at the school did not suffer any physical injuries.
Meanwhile, the mosque's imam at the complex, Taha Hassane, has touted the ICSD as a place for people - including non-Muslims - to gather and pray, study, and celebrate.
"It is outrageous to target places of worship. Our Islamic center is a place of worship," said Hassane.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria emphasized that "hatred has no place" in the city.
"To the local Muslim community, our prayers are with you," said Mayor Gloria.
"I want to reassure our Muslim community that we will make every effort to ensure you feel safe in this city, and no resources will be spared to ensure that our religious institutions and locations are protected in this sensitive time," he said.
Separately, FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency's local division was responding to the incident, and promised that "all resources will be available to assist local partners".
After the shooting, the New York Police Department (NYPD) announced it would increase protection for mosques in the city.
"Although it is currently unknown that there is any connection with NYC or a specific threat to places of worship in NYC, as a precaution, the NYPD is increasing the deployment of personnel at mosques throughout the city," said the NYPD.
The police set up a reunification point for people in the area. The mosque posted on social media that children could be picked up from the nearest church.
California Governor Gavin Newsom's office said he was monitoring the situation and coordinating with local law enforcement.
"We are grateful to the emergency responders on the scene who worked to protect the public and urge everyone to follow the directions of local authorities," the office said in a statement.
The incident comes amid rising Islamophobia in the US, with many politicians and commentators regularly attacking Muslim communities.
For example, Congressman Randy Fine, an ally of President Donald Trump, said late last year that Muslims should be "destroyed".
Then on Monday, Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist close to President Trump, said the ICSD should be raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and immigration authorities.
He shared a 2023 social media post by the wife of a mosque imam accusing Israel of killing children.
"The mosque that 'allegedly' was shot today," Loomer wrote in an accompanying message. "Remember that the people who attend this mosque want us all to be killed."
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