It was a beacon of hope and faith in San Diego. Attack leaves a community seeking answers

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

The San Diego Islamic Center is typically a bustling crossroads, with kids in school, the faithful coming to pray and others simply taking part in cultural activity.But these days, the site is busy for another, much darker reason.The community is mourning.

An ever-growing pile of bouquets of lilies, daisies and sunflowers and notes sits at the base of a large palm tree outside the mosque gates.The entrance to the center remains cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape.

No children are filing in to attend school.Now the parents approach slowly — with tears in their eyes — to pick up their children’s belongings and share their grief.

The center — its minaret visible for miles — draws congregants from across the globe.Many who worship at the mosque have immigrated to America from Gaza and other places besieged by violence.

The expansive white building with its blue tiled roof has been the backdrop for daily connections to God, countless Eid celebrations and events that welcomed interfaith communities.For them, the mosque represented the best America has to offer: peace, a sense of community and love.That sense of security was shattered Monday, when three people — a security guard, a longtime mosque employee and the husband of a teacher — were slain as they tried to prevent two teenage shooters from killing others, including dozens of children hiding in classrooms.Many congregants are still in a state of denial that the center — a place where they felt so safe — so quickly became the scene of violence and tragedy.

There’s also a simmering anger over anti-Muslim hate that has been embraced — and perpetuated — by some of the highest-ranking elected officials in the country.“We are aware of what’s happening around the world, around the nation, the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment, the rise of anti-every type of minority sentiment, but we never expected su...