The attack on the largest mosque in San Diego Monday not only targeted a house of worship, but also the lower campus of Bright Horizon Academy.
The Islamic Center of San Diego’s Imam, Taha Hassane, said as many as 140 children were within fifteen feet of the two gunmen during the shooting.
“I felt a bit scared, my legs were shaking and my hands,” one student from Bright Horizon Academy told Reuters. “And my head was like hurting me a lot. I felt like a rock.”
At least six schools nearby went on lockdown, including Kavod Charter School down the road and Clairemont Canyons Academy about half a mile away from the ICSD.
Dr. David Schonfeld is a pediatrician and director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at the Children's Hospital, Los Angeles. He told KPBS the shooting will not only impact the kids at the Islamic Center and students at the nearby schools on lockdown, but potentially all children who hear about it.
“I really think you have to say to kids this has happened in our community or you may have heard about this in the news, what's your understanding and what questions do you have,” Dr. Schonfeld said. “And then you can go into, how does that make you feel. And let kids talk about their reactions.”
Dr. Schonfeld told KPBS Midday Edition Host Jade Hindmon that it’s important for parents, teachers and community members to start these conversations. Adults may not have all the answers, especially as the shooting at the Islamic Center is being investigated as a hate crime, but he said often a child simply needs someone to listen and offer comfort.
“Many kids, just like adults, will often hide their distress because they think there's something wrong with them or because they don't want to burden the adults around them who are already upset,” Dr. Schonfeld said. “So it's always a good idea to kind of start the conversation.”
When speaking with children who were directly exposed, he said it’s important to help them understand they are safe now. Dr. Schonfeld said these kids may not be ready to talk, and they shouldn’t be forced to, but to let them know they have an adult to confide in.
At a press conference held by Muslim leaders on Tuesday, CAIR San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam warned of the effects hate speech can have on children.
“When anti-Muslim hate is normalized in political discourse, media narratives and online spaces, there are real-world consequences,” Nizam said. “Our children hear that rhetoric, our families live with that fear, and increasingly our schools, our houses of worship, are forced to think about security in spaces that should have been places of peace.”
President of the Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego Abdullah Tahiri spoke at the same press conference. He said the attack was “not only a targeted assault on a place of worship, it was a horrific school shooting.” The two suspects were teenagers.
“They were conditioned by a steady stream of institutionalized bigotry that signals that Muslim houses of worship and Muslim school children are acceptable targets,” Tahiri said. “Let us be entirely clear, words have consequences. Political rhetoric is not harmless chatter, it's a dog whistle that arms extremists with a sense of validation.”
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the three men who were killed delayed the suspects, giving the school enough time to initiate lockdown protocols, which potentially prevented many more fatalities.
Dr. Schonfeld said that children exposed to this kind of violence may experience increased anxiety, trouble sleeping, changes in appetite, difficulty concentrating, a drop in academic performance and often begin avoiding school.
“I do think we should bring it up, even when they're not asking about it because if we don't talk about it, they don't know that they can ask about it,” he said.
