Hiding in Closet, 9-Year-Old Boy Witnesses California Mosque Shooting: 'I Saw Terrible Things'
A shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in California on the 18th left three people dead, with two teenage suspects subsequently committing suicide. A 9-year-old boy, Odai Shanah, hid in a classroom closet with dozens of other children during the incident. Shanah later recounted hearing intense gunfire and witnessing 'terrible things,' including victims' bodies, during the evacuation, leaving him deeply traumatized. The gunmen did not enter the mosque campus, and all students were safe. Shanah's mother is an immigrant who moved to the U.S. from Gaza 20 years ago.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 19, 2026 at 16:55
- 🔍 Collected: May 19, 2026 at 17:01 (6 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 19, 2026 at 22:04 (5h 2m after Collected)
Nine-year-old Odai Shanah was forced to huddle with dozens of children, hiding inside a classroom today during a deadly shooting at the mosque he attends. His mother had immigrated 20 years ago from war-torn Gaza to settle in Southern California.
In an interview hours after the shooting this morning at the Islamic Center of San Diego, Odai Shanah recalled hearing a barrage of intense gunfire from outside the campus walls. The center is also home to an Islamic day school.
Shanah said that he and his classmates were quickly led into a closet by their teacher, where they huddled together, trembling in fear. They then heard about 12 to 16 more gunshots. He recalled that after the shooting stopped, they heard a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team shouting outside the classroom, "Okay, open the door," and then the door was opened.
Shanah stated that as police escorted them from the building, "We saw a lot of terrible things, someone lying on the ground, just that kind of terrible scene." He admitted that by "terrible things," he was referring to the victims' bodies.
"My legs kept shaking, and my hands and head hurt a lot. I felt like a stone," he said.
Police said that three people associated with the Islamic Center, including a security guard, were shot and killed outside the mosque by two teenage suspects. The two gunmen later died by suicide several blocks away. Authorities praised the security guard for successfully preventing greater casualties.
Shanah's parents consented to him being interviewed under his real name to describe the incident in his own words.
After the gunfire ceased, Shanah emerged from his hiding place and witnessed police kicking down the door of the adjacent classroom, as the SWAT team appeared to be conducting a room-by-room search of the building.
"They told us to raise our hands and form a long line," the boy said. He also saw another group of younger students being led out of their classrooms in a similar fashion before he and his classmates were guided across the campus to the outside.
According to authorities, the gunmen did not enter the mosque campus, and all students at the school, named Bright Horizon Academy, have been accounted for and are safe.
The shooting has sent a profound shock through the Islamic Center and its close-knit community, and it must have been particularly jarring for Shanah's mother, who left Gaza in 2006 for the United States. That year, Israeli forces and Palestinian militants engaged in months of fierce fighting in Gaza. Shanah's father immigrated to the U.S. from Jordan in 2015.
In an interview hours after the shooting this morning at the Islamic Center of San Diego, Odai Shanah recalled hearing a barrage of intense gunfire from outside the campus walls. The center is also home to an Islamic day school.
Shanah said that he and his classmates were quickly led into a closet by their teacher, where they huddled together, trembling in fear. They then heard about 12 to 16 more gunshots. He recalled that after the shooting stopped, they heard a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team shouting outside the classroom, "Okay, open the door," and then the door was opened.
Shanah stated that as police escorted them from the building, "We saw a lot of terrible things, someone lying on the ground, just that kind of terrible scene." He admitted that by "terrible things," he was referring to the victims' bodies.
"My legs kept shaking, and my hands and head hurt a lot. I felt like a stone," he said.
Police said that three people associated with the Islamic Center, including a security guard, were shot and killed outside the mosque by two teenage suspects. The two gunmen later died by suicide several blocks away. Authorities praised the security guard for successfully preventing greater casualties.
Shanah's parents consented to him being interviewed under his real name to describe the incident in his own words.
After the gunfire ceased, Shanah emerged from his hiding place and witnessed police kicking down the door of the adjacent classroom, as the SWAT team appeared to be conducting a room-by-room search of the building.
"They told us to raise our hands and form a long line," the boy said. He also saw another group of younger students being led out of their classrooms in a similar fashion before he and his classmates were guided across the campus to the outside.
According to authorities, the gunmen did not enter the mosque campus, and all students at the school, named Bright Horizon Academy, have been accounted for and are safe.
The shooting has sent a profound shock through the Islamic Center and its close-knit community, and it must have been particularly jarring for Shanah's mother, who left Gaza in 2006 for the United States. That year, Israeli forces and Palestinian militants engaged in months of fierce fighting in Gaza. Shanah's father immigrated to the U.S. from Jordan in 2015.