Council backs Muslim community after San Diego mosque attack

The Richmond City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to express condolences and solidarity with the Muslim community following a deadly shooting at a San Diego mosque the day before, adding a resolution to its consent calendar less than 24 hours after the attack killed three people.

Councilmember Soheila Bana, who introduced the item, said swift action was needed to reassure vulnerable residents.

"Our vulnerable communities and residents need us to assure them that we watch out for them, we're here for them, any protection that they need," Bana told the council. She added that hate-fueled attacks often trigger further violence: "Whenever a crazy act of horrendous terrorism happens, there is more online radicalism, and a wave of such acts starts. We would like to put a stop to it in our community."

The resolution formally endorses a joint statement already signed by a broad coalition of Richmond faith leaders, including the city's two mosques, Masjid Al-Noor and Masjid Al-Rahman, alongside Hillcrest Baptist Church, Easter Hill United Methodist Church, and Christian Home Baptist Church, the Sikh Center of the San Francisco Bay Area, Temple Beth Hillel, Muktinath Dham, and the Tibetan Association of Northern California.

"We have to live together. We have to listen to each other. We have to love one another," the statement reads. "Violence is never the answer. Period."

The shooting on May 18 targeted a San Diego facility that serves as both a mosque and a school, affecting children, teachers, and families. City Attorney Shannon Moore clarified the procedural basis for fast-tracking the item, explaining that it qualified as an urgency measure because the need to act arose after the agenda had already been published.

The resolution also pledges that the city will work to protect all faith communities and invites religious and secular organizations to contact Richmond directly with security needs or concerns.

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