Boy, 9, recounts deadly shooting at San Diego mosque: ‘We saw a bunch of bad stuff’
Odai Shanah details being among the children forced to huddle in a classroom during attack at the Islamic Center
A nine-year-old boy has described witnessing Monday’s deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, saying that he “saw bad stuff” and huddled in closet during the attack.
Odai Shanah, whose mother emigrated from war-torn Gaza and settled in southern California two decades ago, told Reuters that he heard a barrage of gunshots coming from outside the walls of the mosque complex, which also houses an Islamic day school.
He recounted being among dozens of children forced to huddle in classrooms when deadly gunfire erupted at the mosque.
Shanah said he and his classmates were trembling in fear as 12 to 16 more shots rang out after they were quickly ushered into that closet and crowded there together.
After the shooting stopped, the boy said, he and his companions heard members of a special tactical police team shouting from outside the classroom: “‘OK, open up,’ then they opened the door.”
But as they were escorted out of the building, “we saw a bunch of bad stuff, people laying down and yeah, bad stuff,” Shanah said. He acknowledged meaning that he and the other children had seen bodies as they walked out in “a big line” with their hands up.
“My legs were shaking and my hands and my head were like hurting a lot,” he said. “I felt like a rock.”
Shanah gave Reuters his heartbreaking account of the shooting after permission was granted to the outlet by his parents.
It was a stark reminder of how youths in the US are disproportionately affected – whether directly or indirectly – by gun violence, which is the country’s leading cause of death for teenagers or younger children.
Police have said three adults affiliated with the Islamic Center were killed during the attack, including a security guard, who officials said played a crucial role in limiting the loss of life.
Two attackers, aged 17 and 18, also died in the shooting, apparently taking their own lives in a stolen car they used to transport them to the site of the attack.
San Diego police chief Scott Wahl said Monday that the shooting was being investigated as a hate crime and that the mother of one of the suspects had found a note.
“At this point, there was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved,” he said. “There was generalized hate rhetoric and speech,” but no specific threat was made to “any facility or any place,” he said.
San Diego has been pushing this agenda for a while now.
The detail about he and his classmates were trembling in fear as 12 to 16 more shots rang out after they were quickly ushered into that closet and crowded there together is something people should sit with.
When you look at he recounted being among dozens of children forced to huddle in classrooms when deadly gunfire erupted at the mosque, the implications are hard to ignore.
The detail about after the shooting stopped, the boy said, he and his companions heard members of a special tactical police team shouting from outside the classroom: is something people should sit with.
When you look at a nine-year-old boy has described witnessing Monday’s deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, saying that he “saw bad stuff” and huddled in closet during the attack, the implications are hard to ignore.
What stands out is after the shooting stopped, the boy said, he and his companions heard members of a special tactical police team shouting from outside the classroom:. That is the part worth paying attention to.
The detail about he recounted being among dozens of children forced to huddle in classrooms when deadly gunfire erupted at the mosque is something people should sit with.
In other words he and his classmates were trembling in fear as 12 to 16 more shots rang out after they were quickly ushered into that closet and crowded there together. Curious to see how this develops.
Odai Shanah is in a tough spot here, curious how they navigate it.
He recounted being among dozens of children forced to huddle in classrooms when deadly gunfire erupted at the mosque. Meanwhile he and his classmates were trembling in fear as 12 to 16 more shots rang out after they were quickly ushered into that closet and crowded there together.
Basically odai Shanah details being among the children forced to huddle in a classroom during attack at the Islamic. What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
The bigger issue here is odai Shanah details being among the children forced to huddle in a classroom during attack at the Islamic. That changes the calculation.
Odai Shanah has been vocal about this, good to see them staying on it.
Scott Wahl is in a tough spot here, curious how they navigate it.
What stands out is a nine-year-old boy has described witnessing Monday’s deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, saying that he “saw bad stuff” and huddled in closet during the attack. That is the part worth paying attention to.