Jehad Serwan Mostafa was born on December 28, 1981, in Waukesha, Wisconsin to a Syrian Kurdish man named Halim Mostafa and an anonymous mother, yet was raised and earned a degree in economics in San Diego, California.[1][2][4][5] In his youth, he served as the head of the Muslim Youth Council of San Diego and later became a security guard under the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.[3] Mostafa was born left handed with a noteworthy scar on his right hand.[4][6] During his time in San Diego, he was described as "very kind, very peaceful, very patient" and as "not scary or aggressive".[7]