Thank you for coming. I’m Mark Remily, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office.
First, I want to reiterate our deep condolences to the victims and their families of this horrific event yesterday. Violence for any reason will never be the answer.
The victims who lost their lives yesterday were there to help others and be a part of a community that came together in peace. Instead, they were confronted by teenagers who appear to have been radicalized online to believe that they didn’t belong because of how they looked or where they worshipped.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
The FBI takes any act of violence seriously, and we refuse to give these subjects’ a platform to try and inflict their hateful beliefs onto others. We will not stand idly by or give their hate any credibility.
We are thoroughly investigating this case to learn everything we can and will not stop until we get to the bottom of why this happened. But also, we want to learn how this happened and how we can work toward preventing it from happening again.
FBI personnel are working diligently on this case to uncover everything we can about the attackers.
I want to thank all the FBI employees and the U.S. attorney’s office who worked tirelessly throughout the night. Our SWAT team, evidence response teams, special agents, analysts, and professional staff have been working side by side with the San Diego Police Department to collect every piece of evidence and review every piece of information we have so far.
Here’s what we can share at this time as we work through this case:
- In coordination with San Diego Police Department, we are currently conducting extensive interviews with the subjects’ family and friends.
- We’ve executed three search warrants at residences associated with the subjects.
- During those searches, we found and seized numerous firearms from two of those locations, including numerous pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, tactical gear, as well as electronics.
- So far in the investigation, we’ve seized over 30 guns and a crossbow. We’re continuing to process the information from all the locations and will provide more when we’re able to do so.
- We’ve also executed search warrants on the electronic devices the subjects had with them at the time of the attack and are in the process of obtaining additional search warrants for other devices.
- In the vehicle they used, we also identified writings with various ideologies outlining religious and racial beliefs of how the world they envisioned should look.
Let me be clear. To anyone who thinks they can bring about the end the world through violence, know this: You will not succeed. The FBI, our law enforcement partners, and our communities are stronger than you think and will always come together for good.
I want to thank all of our law enforcement partners who responded to yesterday’s shooting without hesitation. The quick work of the San Diego Police Department in tracking down the subjects’ vehicle and their instincts on intercepting the attackers helped keep a horrific situation from becoming much, much worse.
The FBI is grateful to all our partners. We couldn’t do what we do without them and will continue to work closely with them through this investigation until we have the answers we all deserve.
Again, we also thank the public for their patience and ask you to continue submitting any information you may have to the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI, or you can send any photos, videos, or other visual files you may have to our digital tipline at fbi.gov/islamicenterofsandiegoshooting.
Our victim specialists are available, and we’re getting reinforcements from our HQ today to assist anyone impacted by the shooting. This is in addition to the resources SDPD and the district attorney’s office are already providing to ensure anyone in the community who needs it is taken care of.
Thank you.