You can help us keep FlightAware free by allowing ads from FlightAware.com. We work hard to keep our advertising relevant and unobtrusive to create a great experience. It's quick and easy to
whitelist ads on FlightAware or please consider our
premium accounts.
These men (boys?) were not "Arabs" or "middle-eastern" in the traditional sense. They were Chaldeans ("Kal-dee-anns"), which are (basically) Christians from Iraq. They were heavily persecuted by the large Muslim population there, and many have fled Iraq and (legally) entered the U.S. There is a very large population of them in the San Diego east county city of El Cajon. They are, generally speaking, typically very good people. I know and have worked with many.
Unfortunately, these young men have really F-'ed up! If actually convicted, they face fairly heavy prison sentences, from what has been reported locally.
I'm in no way defending them or their actions. Just saying...it's not right to stereotype people because of their appearance or surname. It's easy to do...but it isn't right.