The suspects, ages 17 and 18, were later found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds a few blocks away, according to officials. Here’s what we know.
SAN DIEGO — An investigation is underway after two teens shot and killed three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego around noon Pacific Time on Monday.
The two suspected gunmen, ages 17 and 18, were later found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds a few blocks away, according to officials. Here’s what we know so far.
Who were the suspects involved in the deadly shooting?
Officials have not publicly identified the teens involved in the shooting at the mosque but said they are believed to be 17- and 18-year-old men.
Earlier Monday, around 9:42 a.m., the mother of the 17-year-old contacted authorities about her son, a student enrolled at iHigh Virtual Academy since 2021, within the San Diego Unified School District, according to a district official. Between 2024-25, he participated in wrestling as an extracurricular activity at Madison High School but was never enrolled as a student at the high school.
Officers then alerted the school. The mother said her teen son was a runaway. When trying to piece together what happened with her son, she saw several of her weapons were missing, along with her car. She believed her son to be suicidal.
She told officers her son was with a “companion,” according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl, and they were dressed in camouflage.
License plate readers were used to track the vehicle, and officers initially believed the mall in nearby Fashion Valley was under threat.
While officers were working with the mother, Wahl said, police received a call of an active shooter at the mosque at 11:43 a.m. Officers were on scene within four minutes, Wahl said. He also said every police officer available across the county dropped what they were doing and ran toward the gunfire.
The two shooters were found dead a few blocks away after killing three men at the Islamic Center. They died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to Wahl.
What happened?
Two shooters shot and killed three victims at the Islamic Center of San Diego near Balboa Avenue around noon on Monday.
The two shooters died by suicide after they killed three men. The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. It’s the largest mosque in San Diego County, acting as a place of worship and a school.
“This is every community’s worst nightmare,” Wahl said. “There is no further threat. Both suspects in this case are deceased. All of the kids are safe.”
The shooting victims are believed to be adult men, one being a security guard. The victims have not been identified by law enforcement at this time. No children were harmed.
Police received a call of an active shooter at the mosque at 11:43 a.m. Officers were on scene within four minutes, Wahl said. He also said every police officer available across the county dropped what they were doing and ran toward the gunfire.
While officers were responding to the initial shooting call, they received separate calls of shots fired a few blocks away. A landscaper was shot at, but the helmet he was wearing took the brunt of the bullets and saved his life.
“There was no specific threat to the Islamic Center,” Wahl said. “It was more generalized.”
The FBI was also on scene and investigating.
Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily said the agency is “meticulously assessing the situation” and “will work tirelessly until we learn the truth.”
“No community should have to go through such a tragic event,” Remily said at a news conference.
The public in the surrounding neighborhoods was advised to shelter in place in their homes and to avoid the area. Some schools in the area were temporarily placed on lockdown, according to parents.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria also spoke at the press conference. Gloria said his prayers are with San Diego’s Muslim community, and incidents like this are what the city “budgets for.”
“No resource will be spared in making sure that our religious institutions are protected,” Gloria said.
President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting and called it “a terrible situation.”
The Islam Center of San Diego posted on Instagram that “all children and teachers have been evacuated and are safe. Please stay away from the ICSD campus at this time and keep us and the community in your duas.”
Meanwhile, Imam Taha Hassane, the Director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, pleaded with members of the media and public to respect the privacy of the families who have died.
“Let the families mourn. Let them pray. As we do always at the Islamic Center of San Diego,” he said. “It’s a house of worship; it’s not a battlefield.”
This story is developing and may be updated.