{"id":287,"date":"2026-05-26T20:39:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T20:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=287"},"modified":"2026-05-26T20:39:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T20:39:05","slug":"tree-trimmer-injured-in-deadly-mosque-shooting-explains-why-hes-the-luckiest-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=287","title":{"rendered":"Tree trimmer injured in deadly mosque shooting explains why he\u2019s the \u2018luckiest guy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A landscaper shot near the San Diego mosque where two teens carried out a deadly shooting last week said he\u2019s the \u201cluckiest guy in the planet,\u201d in his first statement which was issued by his attorney over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Read more Tech titans mostly silent after Pope Leo\u2019s warning about risks of AI<\/a><\/p>\n

Tafu Letuli, 52, said he was inches away from meeting a horrible end to his life.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cIf not for my helmet, I would probably not be alive today\u201d, he said in the statement. \u201cEvery time I think about what happened, a strange feeling triggers a flood of emotions. I feel fortunate and sad, all at the same time. I keep asking myself \u2018why me, I\u2019m just a tree trimmer?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

San Diego police had said the landscaper was on a residential street a few blocks away from the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18 when he \u201c,\u201d suffering minor injuries after he was struck on a helmet he was wearing.<\/p>\n

Letuli, the landscaper, was \u201cshot at 5 or 6 times by his assailants, Cain Lee Clark, and Caleb Vasquez,\u201d the gunmen who killed three men in the attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego last Monday, said Jerry Suppa, Letuli\u2019s lawyer, in a statement Saturday.<\/p>\n

One of those bullets struck the center of the helmet Letuli was wearing at the time. Letuli \u201cwas injured by bullet fragments that shattered his fiberglass helmet,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cHe was bleeding from his forehead.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Blood ran down Letuli\u2019s face from his upper forehead, just above the hairline, down to his chin, according to the statement. He received treatment for his injuries at the scene, \u201cand later Letuli was treated and examined at the emergency room at a hospital near his home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although traumatized by the ordeal, Letuli sees himself as \u201cthe luckiest guy on the planet,\u201d the statement said. He said he felt \u201cfortunate and sad at the same time,\u201d wondering why him. Letuli added that his heart goes out to the deadly victims of the shooting and their families. <\/p>\n

Clark, 17, and Vazquez, 18, killed three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego last Monday before they killed themselves, authorities said. The teens were found dead in . The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, police said.<\/p>\n

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Among the fatal victims at the mosque is Amin Abdullah, 51, a security guard who officials said played an important role in limiting the loss of life at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Mansour Kazih, 78, a founding member and caretaker of the mosque, and Nadir Awad, 57, who lived across the street from the Islamic Center, and his wife was a teacher at the school, were also killed in the shooting.<\/p>\n

Officials believe Clark and Vazquez met online, where they \u201cappeared to have been radicalized,\u201d said Mark Remily, special agent in charge of the FBI\u2019s San Diego field office, last week.<\/p>\n

Investigators looking into their motivations are working on authenticating a 75-page document posted online, with sections believed to have been written by Clark and Vazquez, that were filled with extremist material espousing anti-Islamic, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ views.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

In a statement Monday, the Islamic Center of San Diego said it is \u201ccontinuing to work with law enforcement and hired security professionals to evaluate additional safety measures and determine the best path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suppa could not be reached Tuesday, but told NBC San Diego on Monday he felt compelled to help Letuli, who is his tree trimmer, by sharing a statement on behalf of him and his family since they\u2019ve been very overwhelmed recently.<\/p>\n

In the statement, Suppa said the the FBI\u2019s victim health specialist in Sorrento Valley and other mental health professionals \u201chave really been helpful in reaching out\u201d to Letuli after he survived the shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter things settle down, Letuli will be in better shape to share his experience with others,\u201d Suppa added.<\/p>\n

Read more Clarence B. Jones, civil rights activist who helped write MLK\u2019s \u2018I Have A Dream\u2019 speech, dies at 95<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Landscaper Tafu Letuli, shot near the San Diego mosque where two teens carried out a deadly shooting last week, said he was inches away from meeting a horrible end to his life, in his first statement after the incident. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTree trimmer injured in deadly mosque shooting explains why he\u2019s the \u2018luckiest guy\u2019 - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=287\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tree trimmer injured in deadly mosque shooting explains why he\u2019s the \u2018luckiest guy\u2019 - 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