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Monday’s deadly attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego was the fourth time someone has been killed at a mosque in the U.S. since 2000.The last time someone was killed at a U.S. mosque was in early 2024 when a man was shot in the parking lot of the Masjid Muhammad mosque in New Jersey.Last year marked the first time since 2022 that there was an active shooter attack at a house of worship. Seven percent of killing incidents at houses of worship are active shootings.Over the past 25 years, there have been about 400 homicide incidents at religious institutions that have resulted in 512 deaths and more than 200 victims injured. That’s according to data gathered by the nonpartisan Violence Prevention Project, which tracks cases in which at least one person was killed at or near a house of worship, including in the parking lot.Twenty-seven incidents involved an active shooter, defined as when a person tries to kill multiple people by firearm, and it’s unrelated to underlying criminal activity. However, those cases had some of the highest death and injury tolls.Patterns in the killings Most homicides at houses of worship involve interpersonal disputes, domestic situations or robberies. Religious institutions become a magnet for violence because they are a known location where people will be, have valuables and have a lesser police presence than other community zones. “The more common form of violence that occurs in these settings is largely spillover of community violence,” said James Densley, co-founder of the Violence Prevention Project. Thirteen incidents since 2000 were confirmed to be related to the ideology of the worshippers, according to the Violence Prevention Project data. But these have been among the deadliest, including attacks at the First Baptist Church, Tree of Life Synagogue and Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.While 96% of the incidents were at Christian churches, that is in line with Christianity being the majority religion in the United States.About 13% of total incidents were related to gang violence, and about 3% of the cases were drive-by attacks.In the majority of cases (69%), a firearm was the weapon of choice. Additionally, most homicides at houses of worship occur outside of the building, according to a Get the Facts Data Team analysis of Violence Prevention Project data. “I don’t know if many people are actually thinking about the parking lots as being a dangerous place, but that’s where a lot of the tensions arise,” Densley said.Was last year more violent?Last year, there were more than double the number of killing incidents at houses of worship compared to 2024, but 2024 had an unusually low number of incidents.The 19 incidents last year are in line with the average over the past 10 years. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
Monday’s deadly attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego was the fourth time someone has been killed at a mosque in the U.S. since 2000.
The last time someone was killed at a U.S. mosque was in early 2024 when a man was shot in the parking lot of the Masjid Muhammad mosque in New Jersey.
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Last year marked the first time since 2022 that there was an active shooter attack at a house of worship. Seven percent of killing incidents at houses of worship are active shootings.
Over the past 25 years, there have been about 400 homicide incidents at religious institutions that have resulted in 512 deaths and more than 200 victims injured. That’s according to data gathered by the nonpartisan Violence Prevention Project, which tracks cases in which at least one person was killed at or near a house of worship, including in the parking lot.
Twenty-seven incidents involved an active shooter, defined as when a person tries to kill multiple people by firearm, and it’s unrelated to underlying criminal activity. However, those cases had some of the highest death and injury tolls.
Patterns in the killings
Most homicides at houses of worship involve interpersonal disputes, domestic situations or robberies. Religious institutions become a magnet for violence because they are a known location where people will be, have valuables and have a lesser police presence than other community zones.
“The more common form of violence that occurs in these settings is largely spillover of community violence,” said James Densley, co-founder of the Violence Prevention Project.
Thirteen incidents since 2000 were confirmed to be related to the ideology of the worshippers, according to the Violence Prevention Project data. But these have been among the deadliest, including attacks at the First Baptist Church, Tree of Life Synagogue and Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
While 96% of the incidents were at Christian churches, that is in line with Christianity being the majority religion in the United States.
About 13% of total incidents were related to gang violence, and about 3% of the cases were drive-by attacks.
In the majority of cases (69%), a firearm was the weapon of choice.
Additionally, most homicides at houses of worship occur outside of the building, according to a Get the Facts Data Team analysis of Violence Prevention Project data.
“I don’t know if many people are actually thinking about the parking lots as being a dangerous place, but that’s where a lot of the tensions arise,” Densley said.
Was last year more violent?
Last year, there were more than double the number of killing incidents at houses of worship compared to 2024, but 2024 had an unusually low number of incidents.
The 19 incidents last year are in line with the average over the past 10 years.
