Manifesto in San Diego mosque attack references London truck tragedy, fuels fears of escalating hate violence

The local Muslim community is upset that the San Diego Mosque shooters were allegedly inspired by the actions of Nathaniel Veltman. CTV’s Gerry Dewan reports.

A manifesto purportedly written by the two teenagers responsible for a deadly shooting at the Islamic Centre of San Diego on Monday references the truck attack that killed four members of a London family nearly five years ago, sparking renewed fears of escalating hate-motivated violence.

Police responded to reports of a shooting at a San Diego mosque just before noon Monday. A security guard and two staff members were discovered deceased outside the centre.

The gunmen, identified as a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, were found dead from self-inflicted wounds a short time later.

The 75-page manifesto, believed to have been authored by the shooters, was reportedly found online. It contains a chilling reference to the June 6, 2021, truck attack that targeted a Muslim family in London, Ont., killing a grandmother, father, mother and teen, while seriously injuring a child.

“It’s retraumatizing, just seeing those images that are quite familiar for everybody,” said Selma Tobah, a board member with the Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia in London.

Tobah has been active in organizing ‘Our London Family’ events to honour the victims of that attack.

“A lot of us in the Muslim community were anticipating this news,” Tobah added. “I think we know that hatred and violence inspires more violence, unfortunately.”

The manifesto also identified individuals involved in other high-profile attacks, including the man who killed six people at a mosque in Quebec City in January 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette, and the perpetrator of the 2019 mass shooting at mosques in New Zealand, in a section labelled ‘heroes and inspirations.’

“It’s draining beyond words. It’s exhausting constantly having to be worried about your personal safety, about your community safety, about the safety of your friends and family,” Tobah told CTV News.

Tobah stressed the critical need for governments and community leaders to actively confront hate speech, particularly online.

“Really being aware of and understanding that we are at a time of rising white supremacist violence and that we’re seeing these groups become more emboldened and that they inspire one another,” she explained. “And so, like the attackers in San Diego reference the attackers in New Zealand, as well as the Quebec mass shooter and the attacker in London. They are all growing in their boldness. Our response also has to be equally bold.”

The anniversary of the tragedy in London falls on Saturday, June 6 this year. Several events are planned to commemorate the victims, including a vigil at the Our London Family Memorial at South Carriage Road and Hyde Park Road, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

More information on planned events can be found on the City of London website.