A shooting at a mosque complex in San Diego, Southern California killed three people on Monday, with two suspected young gunmen discovered dead in a car from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to authorities.
According to police, emergency reaction teams discovered the victims outside the enormous Islamic Center of San Diego before discovering the gunmen, who were also killed.
A chopper captured footage of armed response teams assembled outside a structure, with one unnamed victim lying in a pool of blood.
“We are actively investigating this as a hate crime,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters. “There was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved.”
The Islamic center touts itself on its website as the largest mosque in San Diego County, located in Southern California.
After a brief period of lockdown in which authorities recommended residents remain indoors, San Diego police declared that the threat at the center had been “neutralized.”
“We received a call of an active shooter at the Islamic center. Within four minutes, officers arrived on the scene and observed immediately three deceased victims out in front,” Wahl said.
“We immediately began to deploy with an active shooter response into the mosque and adjacent school,” he said, adding that police had received calls about more gunfire nearby, where a landscaper had been shot at but not hit.
A few blocks from the center, police found a vehicle in the middle of the street with the shooters dead inside.
“The suspects at this point appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. There were no officers involved in firing their weapons,” Wahl said.
He stated that a security guard at the Islamic center was among the three victims killed, and his response had helped prevent a deadlier attack.
“His actions were heroic, and he undoubtedly saved lives today,” Wahl said.
The identities of the remaining two victims were not immediately known.
Wahl stated that the mother of one of the suspects called police two hours before the incident and claimed that her son was “suicidal” and that many weapons and her vehicle were missing.
Initially, police were deployed to an area near a high school related to the suspect until they received a call reporting an active shooter at the Islamic Center.
The mosque’s imam, Taha Hassane, stated that all personnel, instructors, and students at the mosque’s school were safe.
“We have never experienced tragedy like this before. At this moment, all I can say is that we are sending our prayers and standing in solidarity with all the families in our community here,” he said.
“It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship,” the imam added.
President Donald Trump hailed the massacre as a “terrible situation,” while New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, called it “an apparent act of anti-Muslim violence.”
“Islamophobia endangers Muslim communities across this country,” he posted on X, adding that New York police are boosting deployments to mosques “out of an abundance of caution.”
Wahl, the police chief, stated that due to the location of the attack, detectives were “considering this a hate crime until it’s not
State Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the incident, stating, “Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives.”
“Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith,” he said on X, adding, “To the San Diego Muslim community: California stands with you.”
