UK PM Starmer Condemns San Diego Mosque Attack

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, warning that violence of this kind does not happen in a vacuum and calling on people to unite against what he described as a normalisation of division and anti-Muslim hostility.

Reacting to the attack in a statement on X on Monday, Starmer expressed sympathy for those affected.

“I condemn the deadly attack on a mosque in San Diego. My thoughts are with those affected,” the statement read.

He went on to say that violence like the San Diego shooting does not happen in a “vacuum,” adding that it grows in environments where division and anti-Muslim hostility are normalised, and that “we must all come together against it.”

The attack Starmer was responding to took place on Monday morning at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the city’s largest mosque, which also houses an Islamic school. Three people were killed, including a mosque security guard and two school staff members.

Two suspected shooters, believed to be aged 17 and 19, were found dead in a vehicle nearby from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. A landscaper working in the area was also shot at but was not injured.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said investigators were treating the attack as a hate crime, citing anti-Islamic writing found inside the vehicle where the suspects were discovered and hate rhetoric connected to the incident.

One of the suspects, identified by law enforcement sources as 17-year-old Cain Clark, had taken three firearms from his mother’s home before the attack and left a suicide note containing writings about racial pride, according to officials.

The attack occurred on the first day of Dhul Hijjah, one of the holiest periods in the Islamic calendar.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and his wife said they were horrified by the attack. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria described the incident as unacceptable, stating that hate and Islamophobia have no place in the city. He vowed that no resources would be spared in protecting religious institutions.

The Los Angeles Police Department announced it was stepping up patrols around mosques and Islamic centres across the city as a precaution.