Two teen gunmen kill three at San Diego mosque before taking own lives

SAN DIEGO: At least five people, including two teenage suspects, were killed after a shooting at a mosque in California’s San Diego city on Monday, in what authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime.

According to police, two armed teenagers opened fire outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing a security guard and two other men affiliated with the mosque before later being found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said that local police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were jointly investigating the attack as a hate crime, although authorities had not publicly identified a specific motive.

The shooting occurred at around 11:40am local time in the Clairemont district of San Diego, sending dozens of law enforcement officers rushing to the scene.

Police said all children attending a day school located within the mosque complex were safely accounted for following the attack.

Speaking at a press conference, Wahl said the mother of one of the suspects had contacted police nearly two hours before the shooting, reporting that her teenage son — whom she described as suicidal — had fled home with three firearms and her vehicle.

According to police, the two suspects, aged 17 and 18, were dressed in camouflage clothing. Officers had already begun searching for the pair near a shopping mall and a local high school before emergency calls about the mosque shooting were received.

Authorities later discovered the bodies of the two suspects inside a vehicle parked on a nearby street. Police said both appeared to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Wahl declined to reveal details of a note allegedly found by the suspect’s mother but said investigators had been alerted to “generalised hate rhetoric and hate speech” before the attack.

“We have never experienced a tragedy like this before,” said Taha Hassane. “It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.”

Police credited the slain security guard with potentially preventing greater loss of life.

Authorities said no officers fired their weapons during the incident.

Investigators are also examining whether a separate shooting targeting a landscaper a few blocks away around the same time was linked to the mosque attack. The landscaper survived without injury after a bullet apparently struck his helmet.

Television footage showed heavily armed police officers surrounding the mosque complex, with tactical teams positioned on rooftops and highways nearby shut down during the operation.

The Islamic Center of San Diego is the largest mosque in San Diego County and includes the Bright Horizon Academy, which provides Islamic education.

The attack comes days before Eid al-Adha and amid heightened concerns among Muslim and Jewish communities following months of escalating conflict in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel and Iran.