Three victims were killed in a shooting at a San Diego mosque on Monday. The two suspects behind the attack were also killed, authorities said.
Police responded to a report of an active shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego shortly before noon local time and found three deceased victims outside, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said during a news conference early Monday afternoon.
In a second press conference Monday evening, Wahl explained that authorities had received a report of a “runaway juvenile” from the mother of one of the suspects earlier that morning. After learning that some of the mother’s weapons had gone missing and that her son and a companion were dressed in camo when they were last seen, police began to believe there was a “bigger threat picture” facing the area, Wahl said.
Police were searching several locations for the suspect, including a school and a local mall, when they received the call about the shooting at the mosque.
At around the same time as police arrived at the Islamic center, there were reports of more gunfire a few blocks away, where it’s believed the fleeing suspects fired shots at a landscaper. Officers were then called to a nearby location where a vehicle was found in the middle of the street. The suspects, two male teenagers aged 17 and 18, were found inside the car, dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, Wahl said.
One of the victims was a security guard at the Islamic center, who authorities credited with preventing the attackers from breaching the inside of the building.
“It’s fair to say his actions were heroic and undoubtedly he saved lives today,” Wahl said.
The identities of the victims and the suspects have not been made public.
The attack is being actively investigated as a hate crime. Wahl said police have found “hate rhetoric” connected to at least one of the suspects, but that no specific threat was made against the mosque before the shooting.
The Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its website. Its mission is to “serve the religious needs of the San Diego Muslim population and work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation.” It is also the site of a school for children from pre-K to 3rd grade. Children were present at the time of the incident, but none were hurt, police said.
Local and state leaders have condemned the attack.
“This is a house of worship. It’s not a battlefield,” Taha Hassane, the imam at the Islamic Center, said Monday afternoon. “Let’s do our best to spread the culture of love and tolerance and sympathy for the sake of this nation, for the sake of the future generation.”
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria shared a message for the city’s Muslim community in the wake of the attack.
“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, and no resource will be spared. And making sure that our religious institutions and locations are protected in this sensitive time,” he said. “But to reassert, as I always will: Hate has no place in the city of San Diego.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for solidarity against hate in a post on social media.
“Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives,” he wrote. “Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith.”
