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Public Safety

North Carolina woman indicted in connection to San Diego Islamic Center shooting

Afternoon light illuminates the Islamic Center of San Diego in San Diego, California on May 19, 2026, one day after two teenage suspects attacked the center and killed three members of the mosque community.
Afternoon light illuminates the Islamic Center of San Diego in San Diego, California on May 19, 2026, one day after two teenage suspects attacked the center and killed three members of the mosque community.

A North Carolina woman was indicted Monday in connection with the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in May. Two gunmen opened fire on the center, killing three men outside, all while livestreaming the attack.

According to Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill, the 17-year-old woman was one of three people who watched the gunmen’s livestream of the attack. She recorded the livestream, published the gunmen’s manifesto and disseminated both, O’Neill said.

The Winston-Salem woman was arrested by authorities last week and on Monday indicted by a grand jury on three counts of murder and one count of conspiracy.

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“The law in North Carolina is clear. A person may be guilty of a crime, although he or she personally does not do any of the acts to constitute the crime,” O’Neill said during a press conference.

O’Neill suggested the woman would be tried as an adult.

“In North Carolina, our legislators thankfully have changed the law so that a 17-year-old … who engages in this unbelievably terroristic and treacherous behavior can be treated as an adult,” he said.

On May 18, two gunmen, 18 and 19 years old, drove to the Islamic Center of San Diego. They encountered security guard Amin Abdullah and began shooting. Abdullah returned fire and was killed. Later Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad were killed outside the mosque as the two gunmen fled.

San Diego Police and the FBI are investigating the shooting as a hate crime.

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