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Police Say, Security Guard's Heroic Actions Undoubtedly Saved Lives; Three Killed in Mosque Shooting, Police Investigating It as Hate Crime; Polls Open in Kentucky Primary as Trump Looks to Unseat Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired May 19, 2026 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: New details this morning about that deadly shooting at San Diego's largest mosque. What we've learned about the security guard being called a hero now, and the two teenagers accused of this horrific crime.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is Election Day in America, parts of America. It's also another test of President Trump's political power as he's thrust himself front and center in these races as well. Will he be able to take down more members of his own party today?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Evacuate now. Tens of thousands of people told to leave their homes as a fire rages through Southern California, and a wind change today could add fuel to those flames.

I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: The security guard killed in the shooting rampage at San Diego's largest mosque has been identified as Amin Abdullah, a father of eight. He is among the three victims killed. And this morning, the deadly attack is being investigated as a hate crime.

The suspects, two teenagers ages 17 and 18, are also dead. Police say their bodies were found with self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a car near the crime scene.

The mosque's center also houses a school, and you'll see some video showing children holding hands as they are whisked away from the scene. The imam later said that all students and teachers were safe and unharmed.

Police and those who knew Abdullah say he was a hero who no doubt died trying to protect those children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM HAMIDEH, FRIEND OF SECURITY GUARD KILLED IN MOSQUE SHOOTING: I truly know in my heart from knowing that man that he was sacrificing his life, and took that bullet knowing that, I rather take it than the kids. And that is what makes me emotional. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Just hours before the attack, the mother of the 17-year-old suspect told police her son and car were missing along with three weapons. Law enforcement officials tell CNN that hate speech was written on one of the weapons used in this deadly attack.

CNN's Kyung Lah is live for us on the scene early this morning there in San Diego. What can you tell us is the latest, Kyung?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, you can see the grief palpable in that man's interview, and that's really what is surrounding the mosque and the community center and the school that we're standing in here in San Diego. This is the largest mosque in San Diego County.

And the questions here for the people who had to live through this, as well as law enforcement, is the why. The investigation is going to start there, the exact why. Right now, as you indicated, this is going to be investigated as a hate crime. But this mother, she did tip off police some two hours earlier that she was concerned about her son missing with her car, those weapons, that he had disappeared with another friend, and they were both dressed in camo. He had left behind that suicide note with some racial writings. And that is really what led her to call law enforcement.

And then just less than two hours later, the reports of an active shooting here at the mosque, and it was the security guard, Amin Abdullah, who we now know his name, who friends say really they believe stopped this from being so much worse.

And I want you to listen a little bit more from that friend of the security guard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMIDEH: I know that he knew he was sacrificing his life for the kids. Because if he didn't take that bullet, they would've easily walked upstairs, and then there's just innocent eight and younger and women and, you know, people that couldn't defend themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: My colleague, Scott Glover, was able to talk to the grandparents of the 17-year-old suspect, and they say that they really are just stunned, that they thought he was a good kid. So, a lot of questions today on exactly what led these two young people to take this step.

[07:05:00]

Sara?

SIDNER: It's just horrific all the way around. Kyung Lah, thank you for your reporting throughout this. I know you got there very, very soon after this scene unfolded. Kate?

BOLDUAN: That security guard hailed as heroic for his actions for not letting it become even more tragic.

Joining us right now to talk about this more is CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Jonathan Wackrow. It's good to see you, Jonathan.

Places of worship continue to be targets, continue to be vulnerable. Let's break this down into two parts from what you see in terms of the response, the reaction, how the center of the security guard's actions of though this is an absolute tragedy, what went right in terms of the response to mitigate this from becoming even worse?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT: Well, what went right in the response actually happened before the actual attack was launched. When the mother of one of the suspects alerted law enforcement of her concerns, they took that -- they took that notification, and they disseminated it out across their entire force basically signaling that there is a potential unmitigated threat out there. They started tracking using technology to try to locate these individuals.

So, you already had a department that was on a heightened sense of awareness of something could go wrong. When the 911 calls came in that there was a shooting at the mosque, what you saw was this overwhelming response to that location.

And that was not by coincidence. That's actually by design. And the reason being is law enforcement has long, you know, warned that these houses of worship really represent a high risk because they have this unique vulnerability in their landscape. They combine this symbolic significance with open access and predictable gathering, making it a very, you know, focused target for attackers like this.

So, again, the response was almost textbook. And, you know, we are seeing that across the country law enforcement response to active shooter situations is, you know, becoming very rapid. I think in this instance it was only four minutes from the time the 911 call came in to the first officer on scene. I mean, that is a remarkable response time.

So, we're doing response really well. We need to get better at, you know, identifying these threats in advance and preventing these tragedies from happening.

BOLDUAN: And that gets then to the opposite end of this, right, which is three people are -- three people are dead, three families are ruined. What went wrong then?

WACKROW: Well, there's a lot that went wrong and really we have to look at the attackers. Kate, two attackers of this age executing coordinated violence, to me, signals that ideology was reinforced through relationships.

And what's different here from what we've talked about in the aftermath of these tragic events is that this is not like a lone actor engaging out of a personal grievance or an act of workplace violence. These two individuals, 17 and 19 years old, they validated each other. They planned together. And that's a very different threat profile than we've even discussed. They didn't spontaneously attain this motivation and commitment to killing on that day. Something preceded that.

And what I will predict is that investigators are really going to, you know, identify these online radicalization forums where it reinforces the act of killing and hate that enabled these attackers to launch you know, this, you know, horrific attack yesterday.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Jonathan, thank you very much. Your expertise is always so important in these moments. I really appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: All right, game on. Primaries in key states across the country, including the one where President Trump is going all in to defeat a Republican incumbent who crossed him on the Epstein investigation.

A major uptick in reported Ebola deaths overnight as the United States issues emergency travel restrictions to try to keep the virus out.

And a string of powerful storms rips across parts of the country, some sparking tornadoes. We've got the latest forecast for today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BERMAN: All right, this just in.

BOLDUAN: It's Election Day in America, friends.

Primaries in six states, including Kentucky, where the president is desperately trying to unseat Republican Thomas Massie, who pushed for the release of the Epstein files. In a rare if not unprecedented move, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went to campaign for Massie's opponent, in wartime no less.

Let's get right to CNN's Jeff Zeleny on the ground in Covington, Kentucky, really the epicenter of the political universe, at least for today, Jeff. Set the expectations.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning. It certainly is. I mean, this race has really taken on outside proportions here. It's President Trump versus Thomas Massie. Of course, the names on the ballot are not that. It's Thomas Massie versus Ed Gallrein. And he was campaigning here yesterday, as you said, with the defense secretary, a very unusual sight to see Pete Hegseth on the campaign trail.

But this race has become all about Thomas Massie and his voting record over seven terms in Congress.

[07:15:01]

The White House has been trying to oust him for more than a year. They've been running ads against him last summer before there was an opponent. But we caught up with the congressman last night in his hometown to ask him about what this race feels like in the final moments. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: This race has been nationalized, as you well know, talking about the revenge tour and the revenge list. Do you think that's how voters here in Kentucky see this race?

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (D-KY): I don't think so. They don't know what happened to Bill Cassidy or to those senators in Indiana. And both of those situations are unique from mine. Bill Cassidy voted to impeach the president. That's something I've never done, and I would never do, and his constituents were mad about that, right?

I'm still with my constituents. In spite of the billionaire spending millions of dollars to convince them I'm not, I think most of my constituents know that, because I've been at this 14 years. I haven't changed at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, the question here is, is Thomas Massie going to be the latest Republican to fall victim to the president's revenge tour? He was talking about Senator Bill Cassidy there from Louisiana, who, of course, lost over the weekend.

But, John, this race has become much more against Thomas Massie than for Ed Gallrein. So, there is no doubt that so much outside money has been spent here. But talking to voters, and they've been voting for more than an hour here already this morning, it is very much a close call between the loyalty to Donald Trump in this deeply Republican area of Kentucky, or the loyalty to their congressman, who they have sent back to office again and again for the last 14 years or so.

So, the White House is following this very carefully. Of course, Thomas Massie is as well. John?

BERMAN: Kentucky votes early in the morning, and they end counting pretty early in the evening, which makes it nice for us when we cover these elections, Jeff. And it's not the only race. This Congressional race is not the only race in the state.

ZELENY: It's not. There is a Senate race as well. And this is the first election year since 1984 for the Senate races that Mitch McConnell is not on the ballot. Of course, he is retiring after being the longest serving Republican in office from here.

The race to replace him was intended to be very competitive, but President Trump weighed in about a month or so ago and endorsed Andy Barr, a congressman from here in Kentucky. So, Andy Barr is likely to win the Republican primary for Senate. But to fill Mitch McConnell's shoes, certainly a historic seat as well. But there's been very little talk about that race compared to the president's obsession of unseating Thomas Massie. John?

BERMAN: Some historic transitions either way in Kentucky. Jeff Zeleny, great to have you there, thank you very much. Indeed. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, John.

Ahead, it's not just gas prices. A looming motor oil shortage could mean your next oil change might have to wait.

And an absolute thriller in game one of the Western Conference finals, a double overtime nail-biter between the Spurs and the Thunder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Let's get to it. Victor Wembanyama with an all-time great performance as the Spurs take game one of the Western Conference Finals.

Let's go over to CNN's Andy Scholes. He has it all. Andy, there you are.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Tell me everything.

SCHOLES: Good morning, Kate.

So, you know, when Victor Wembanyama plays like this, I don't know how the Spurs will ever lose a game because, you know, we knew we were in for an amazing series between San Antonio and OKC. This is the first time since the Bulls-Jazz finals in '98 that we have a series between two teams that won 62 games, and game one did not disappoint.

Pick it up, under 20 seconds to go, tie game. Wemby's going to get this to go in the lane to put the Spurs up. But Shai Gilgeous- Alexander, who got his second straight MVP award before the game, comes right back, scores to send the game to overtime.

In O.T., SGA, he's going to drive to the basket for the slam, so the Thunder go up by three with a minute left. And moments later, Spurs running out of time, Wemby goes Steph Curry, pulls up from 28 feet, nails it to tie the game. We go to a double overtime, and then there was just no stopping Wemby. He scored nine points in the second overtime. He finished with 41 points, 24 rebounds as the Spurs take game one 122-115.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, SAN ANTONIO SPURS CENTER: Sheer willpower, everything was going really fast tonight. I guess I was -- I wasn't really thinking.

You know, it might be a long series. Winning one game means something, but it doesn't mean everything, you know? So, we got to stay down to earth and, hopefully, if it's a long series, we're going to need those wins.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: All right. We also had a thriller in game seven between the Sabres and Canadiens. Montreal was up 2-0, with a 2-1 now in the third. Rasmus Dahlin with the goal to tie it, and all the Buffalo fans, they're going crazy.

But then there was another moment Buffalo fans probably not going to forget. They thought they had the go-ahead goal here, but the officials blew the whistle thinking Jacob Dobes had it. The Sabres may have poked it away from Dobes anyway, so it may not have counted on review, but it still hurts not to get that goal.

And the game would go to overtime, and Alex Newhook would end up winning it for Montreal in the extra period. And the Canadiens, who were the last team from Canada to win the Stanley Cup back in 1993, they're now on to face the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX NEWHOOK, MONTREAL CANADIENS CENTER: It's a crazy feeling. You know, to come up and get two wins to keep us going here in the playoffs. It's fun. It's why you play the game. And, you know, I think we played well enough to win. So, we're looking forward now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, you got more great sports coming your way tonight. Madison Square Garden certainly going to be rocking for game one of the Eastern Conference finals between the Knicks and the Cavs.

And, you know, Kate, you know, the thought was the Spurs were too young to win the NBA Finals this year, but, man, with Harper, Stephon Castle, and the way Wemby plays, I mean, certainly, anything seems possible.

BOLDUAN: Anything is possible, Andy, when you're around. It just makes everything possible. You're the best.

[07:25:00]

Berman, how do you feel about this?

BERMAN: It was unbelievable. I stayed up for the first quarter and then realized I couldn't possibly stay up long enough to watch.

BOLDUAN: Like, wait, yes, please go to sleep.

BERMAN: Yes, I did. But double -- it was amazing. I mean, what he's able to do, what Wemby's able to do is just out of control.

BOLDUAN: I mean, wait until you see my -- just kidding.

BERMAN: Yes. You can dunk without even jumping like Wemby.

BOLDUAN: Exactly. It looks like he's like skipping when he does it, right? BERMAN: Just like that. It looks just like that.

All right, rescue crews save eight people from rising waters inside a cave, some of them couldn't even swim.

And breaking overnight, the death toll from the Ebola outbreak is growing. The U.S. takes new action to keep it from U.S. shores.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: New this morning, we now know the name of the security guard being held a hero after being killed in the attack at a San Diego mosque.

[07:30:04]

He is Amin Abdullah, a father of eight.