Two teen shooters open fire on San Diego mosque, killing 3 men and then themselves, police say

Police and the FBI are investigating after three people were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, and two teen suspects are dead. During their initial news conference on Monday, FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily and San Diego police Chief Scott Wahl both confirmed there were three adult male victims, one of whom was a mosque security guard. Wahl said the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime. Remily said the two suspects, who were teenage males, were found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby. Neither Remily nor the police chief identified the suspects, but San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said they were 17 and 18 years old. The chief also said the two suspects “appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.”Pressed by reporters during a second news conference later Monday to reveal the identities of the victims, Wahl said the victims’ names will be released in the coming days. He said the victims’ families have been notified. Officials have also yet to provide the identities of the two suspects.The police department, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, said further updates on the investigation will be posted on a special page of the city’s website.San Diego police got a call about “runaway juvenile” earlier MondayIn the second news conference on Monday, Chief Wahl revealed that police received a call on Monday morning who reported that her son had run away. The mother, who hasn’t been identified by police, called police concerned that her son was suicidal and had run away, Wahl said. There were weapons missing from the home, and the mother’s vehicle was gone, the chief added.Video below: Officials provide a second update on the Islamic Center shootingThe search took on even more urgency as police learned that he was dressed in camouflage and with an acquaintance — details that, the chief said, were unexpected for someone about to die by suicide.The mother also found a note, Wahl said. He did not disclose its contents but said of the case, “There was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved.” “What that note looks like, what that note says, I’m not going to disclose right now,” Wahl said.When pressed by reporters about the note and the evidence that is being reviewed, the chief said, “There was no specific threat, especially no specific threat to the Islamic Center. It was just general hate kind of speech that I think covered a wide gamut,” he said. “Again, we are still actively investigating this as we speak, but it was more generalized.”He said the details the mother provided police “began to trigger a larger threat assessment picture.”“Our threat management unit began to take the tips and leads that we had and utilize the technology we have available to us,” the chief said.Police began using whatever technology they could to find the 17- and 18-year-old, including automated license plate readers. The department dispatched authorities to a mall near where the car had been tracked by police, and officers alerted a school where at least one of the suspects had been a student, Wahl said.Upon learning that one of the teens was connected to a local high school, San Diego police alerted the school’s police. “We alerted school police department, and we dispatched officers into the area of Madison High School,” Wahl said.Madison High School is around one mile from the mosque.Asked by reporters whether there was a threat to the school, the chief said “there was no specific threat.”Chief Wahl explained that while officers were actively searching for the two teenagers and continued interviewing the mother about places the teens might be, they got reports of a shooting at the mosque.The responseInvestigators remain on scene at the Islamic Center of San Diego, which is located in San Diego’s Clairemont neighborhood, about 9 miles north of downtown San Diego.Wahl said police were dispatched around 11:43 a.m. PST on Monday for reports of an active shooter situation. He said police officers arrived within four minutes and “immediately” found the three victims “out in front” of the mosque. Around the same time, police received calls that a couple of blocks away, there was active gunfire. He said a landscaper in that area was shot at. Initially, the chief said the landscaper wasn’t hit, but during a second news conference on Monday, he said the landscaper may have been shot in the helmet.“The landscaper is going to be OK, but we are still investigating that scene. It appears he may have been shot in the helmet that deflected and saved his life, but that is not totally confirmed at this point,” Wahl said.Moments after they got the call about the landscaper being shot at, officers were called to a nearby street, where the suspected shooters were found dead. Remily said investigators are working to determine a motive for the shooting and are asking the public to submit any information they may have about the shooting to the FBI.Those who have any relevant information are asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit FBI.Gov/IslamicCenterOfSanDiegoShooting.FBI Director Kash Patel, in a post on X, said, in part, “all resources will be made available assisting local partners.”Students and teachers from the school on Islamic Center campus are safeThe Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its website. The campus includes the Al Rashid School, which the website says offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies, and the Quran. After police were dispatched to the mosque, local aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the parking lot of the center as it was surrounded by scores of police vehicles. The white mosque is in a neighborhood of homes, apartments, and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets.Chief Wahl confirmed that all of the school children are safe, and in an earlier post on Instagram, Islamic Center Imam Taha Hassane said the teachers are safe as well. “All of the kids are safe,” Wahl said, appearing emotional. “Our hearts go out to the families that are in this moment being notified of what has happened to their loved ones.”Parents were directed to a nearby area to retrieve their children at a reunification location at a nearby church. Security guard among the deceasedAfter confirming that the mosque has a security system, Chief Wahl confirmed that a mosque security guard was among the dead. Wahl didn’t release the security guard’s identity, but he commented that he thinks it’s possible that the security guard “played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse.” Later, he said authorities continued to review the security guard’s response, but “it’s fair to say his actions were heroic.”“Undoubtedly, he saved lives today,” Wahl said.Video below: Watch the initial news conferenceThe police chief also confirmed that investigators are reviewing Mosque security footage.”There is footage. There is going to be a tremendous amount of information and details that we’re gonna try to sort and put this puzzle back together again,” Wahl said.Law enforcement officers praised for quick responseWahl and Remily both praised law enforcement officers for a quick response. Wahl said that in addition to the officers who surrounded the outside of the facility and those who responded to the nearby call for shots fired, there were between 50 and 100 law enforcement officers inside the Islamic Center after an active shooter response was deployed. He said police officers and sheriff’s deputies worked from room to room, breaching doors in the process.”I can tell you with 100% certainty, the heroic actions of the responding officers and deputies is beyond words,” he said. “To know that this many of our public servants are willing to leave their loved ones behind, drop what they’re doing, and run towards gunfire without any questions is remarkable.” Law enforcement executing search warrants on Monday night, in the coming days Chief Wahl said that police continue to investigate the situation as a hate crime, and said that law enforcement is actively carrying out search warrants.“We’re all focused on figuring out how this happened and what could we have done to prevent it,” Wahl said.Remily, the special agent in charge, said the FBI is “in the process of interviewing family and friends of the subjects, and evidence tech evidence response teams are gathering all the evidence from the scene for review.”“We will process everything as quickly, but as meticulously as we can,” Remily said, later adding that investigators “will leave no stone unturned.” Imam condemns gun violence at houses of worshipImam Taha Hassane, standing next to the police chief at the news conference, said the center focused on interfaith relations and community building, and that a group of non-Muslims had been touring the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.With passion in his voice, Imam Taha Hassane said, “It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.” “Our Islamic Center is a place of worship. People come to the Islamic Center to pray, to celebrate, to learn — not only Muslims, but we have people from all walks of life,” he added. The mosque’s website says its mission is to not only serve the Muslim population but also “work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation.” Five daily prayers are held there, and the mosque works with other organizations and people of all faiths on social causes.The Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S., 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 in a statement. “We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”Police patrols increased at places of worship in other US cities CNN reports that police in multiple major U.S. cities have increased patrols at their local houses of worship in response to the San Diego shooting situation.New York City, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles police departments said they have increased the police presence at mosques and religious institutions, but have noted that there was no known threat and that they were increasing deployments out of an abundance of caution, CNN reported.Public officials condemn the shooting and IslamophobiaCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a post on social media, released a statement from he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel, condemning the shooting.The couple said they were “horrified by today’s violent attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, where families and children gather, and neighbors worship in peace and fellowship.” “Today, this community space was shattered by gunfire,” the governor’s statement reads, later adding that “Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives.” He went on to say that “hate has no place in California,” and that, “we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith.” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria spoke at both news conferences on Monday. During the first, he said his prayers are with the muslim community in San Diego.”I want to assure our muslim community that we will do everything it takes to make sure that you can feel safe in this city,” Gloria said. “No resource will be spared in making sure that our religious institutions and locations are protected in this sensitive time.”During the second news conference, the mayor said, “Hate has no home in San Diego. Islamophobia has no home in San Diego. An attack on any San Diegan is an attack on all San Diegans, and we will not stand for it in America’s finest city.”Asked by reporters about the situation on Monday, President Donald Trump called it “a terrible situation.””I’ve been given some early updates, but we’re going to be going back and looking at it very strongly,” he said.____The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this story