Community members gather to honor three victims killed in San Diego mosque shooting
OCEANSIDE, Calif. (NBC, KYMA) - In and around San Diego, many are still grieving days after the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD) that killed three people.
In Oceanside, a vigil was held to honor the lives of the victims.
The pain is still felt across San Diego after the loss of Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nadir Awad were killed in a shooting at ICSD.
In Oceanside, around a hundred people of all beliefs came together at Civic Center Plaza to pay respects to the three men.
"The month of Hajj is the last month on the lunar calendar in the first ten days of the holiest. And on that first of those ten days, that's when we lost our three beloved brothers," said Yusef Miller, with the North County Equity and Justice Coalition, who organized the gathering.
He said the North County community is standing strong with those affected in the attack, and said they're standing strong after the attack.
"The tragedy has have all shaken up, but this is a holy period, a period of reflection, a period of prayer and charity. So we would not allow terrorists to to steal our joy, to steal our our faith, to make us hide and cower," Miller expressed.
Miller also said as many San Diegans continue to process the tragedy, the next step is to heal and educate others about the Muslim community.
"And when it comes to our educational system, diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI is the solution, not the problem," Miller shared.
Miller called on families to start teaching these values at home, but also hold those in charge accountable those in charge.
"We need a cultural shift. And in the school systems, we need education, something intentional, something that brings people together no matter what percentage of those different, diverse ethnic groups exist in that school system. We can fix that. It's in our hands. We just need the political will to institute it and have it in our school systems. Everyone should be diverse."
Yusef Miller, North County Equity And Justice Coalition
