Two Teenagers Open Fire at San Diego Mosque, Killing Three Before Dying by Suicide

Two teenage shooters opened fire at a mosque in San Diego on Monday, killing three men in an attack that police are investigating as a hate crime. The two shooters later died a few blocks away from the mosque from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

There was no specific threat made against the Islamic Center of San Diego, but authorities found evidence that the suspects engaged in "generalised hate rhetoric," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said. He declined to give more details but said the circumstances leading up to the attack would emerge in the coming days.

Before the shooting, officers were already looking for one of the teenagers. His mother had called police, concerned that her son was suicidal and had run away. Weapons were missing from the home, and the mother's vehicle was gone. The search took on even more urgency as police learned that he was dressed in camouflage and with an acquaintance – details that were unexpected for someone about to die by suicide, Wahl said.

Police used whatever technology they could find to locate the 17- and 18-year-old suspects, including automated licence plate readers. The department dispatched authorities to a mall near where the car had been tracked, and officers alerted a school where at least one of the suspects had been a student.

Among those killed was a mosque security guard, whom police believe "played a pivotal role" in keeping the attack from being "much worse." "It's fair to say his actions were heroic," Wahl said at a later news conference. "Undoubtedly he saved lives today." A family friend identified the guard as Amin Abdullah, a well-known figure at the mosque who had been working there for more than a decade. "He wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard," said Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who had spoken with Abdullah's son.

The Islamic Center of San Diego is the largest mosque in the county and includes the Al Rashid School, which offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies, and the Quran for students aged five and up, according to its website.

Police responded within four minutes of being called. As they arrived, gunshots rang out a few blocks away, where a landscaper was shot at but uninjured. The shooters were found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a nearby road. Aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the centre's parking lot as it was surrounded by scores of police vehicles.

The mosque is located in a neighbourhood of homes, apartments, and strip malls where many Muslims in the area live, and where Middle Eastern restaurants, shops, and markets have a strong presence. The mosque's director, Imam Taha Hassane, called the attack "extremely outrageous to target a place of worship." "All the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected," he said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the US, condemned the shooting. "No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school," said CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam. "We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers."

US President Donald Trump also weighed in shortly after reports emerged, denouncing the shooting and calling it a "terrible situation."

Three men are dead. A security guard is being called a hero. Two teenagers killed themselves after an attack driven by hate. And a community that came to pray is now grieving. San Diego has seen many tragedies. This one, targeting a place of worship, cuts deeper. The investigation continues. The questions – about how two teens got weapons, why warning signs were missed, and how hate rhetoric escalates to violence – will linger long after the crime scene tape is removed.