3 killed after teen gunmen open fire at San Diego’s largest mosque before taking own lives

Three men were killed after two teenage gunmen opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the largest mosque in San Diego County, on Monday (May 18).

“Every community’s worst nightmare”

The two suspects, aged 17 and 18, later died from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds a few blocks away, according to AP News. Police are investigating the attack as a hate crime.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said there had been no specific threat made against the mosque, but authorities found evidence that the suspects had engaged in “generalised hate rhetoric”.

“This is every community’s worst nightmare,” Wahl said, as cited by The Guardian.

Police were already searching for one suspect

Before the attack, police had already been searching for one of the teenagers after his mother called officers to say her son was suicidal and had run away.

According to Wahl, weapons were missing from the home, and the mother’s vehicle was also gone.

Police later learned that the teenager was dressed in camouflage and was with an acquaintance, which Wahl said was unexpected for someone believed to be suicidal, reported AP News.

Officers used technology, including automated licence plate readers, to try to find the teenagers.

They also went to a mall near where the vehicle had been tracked, and alerted a school where at least one of the suspects had been a student.

As police continued speaking to the mother about where the teenagers might be, they received reports of a shooting at the mosque.

Officers responded within four minutes of being called.

As they arrived, gunshots were heard a few blocks away, where a landscaper was shot at but was not injured.

Wahl said the landscaper “may have been shot in the helmet that deflected and saved his life”, according to The Guardian.

The two suspects were later found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby. The FBI said no officers fired their weapons.

Security guard believed to have saved lives

Among the three men killed was a security guard at the mosque.

Police believe the guard “played a pivotal role” in preventing the attack from becoming “much worse”, reported AP News.

Wahl said:

“It’s fair to say his actions were heroic... Undoubtedly he saved lives today.”

A family friend identified the guard as Amin Abdullah, a well-known figure at the mosque who had worked 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.

Children at mosque school unharmed

Authorities said no children at the centre’s school were harmed. A reunification centre was also set up for affected families, according to The Guardian.

Aerial television footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands as they were escorted out of the centre’s parking lot, which was surrounded by police vehicles.

Parents were then directed to a nearby area to pick up their children.

The mosque’s director, Imam Taha Hassane, condemned the attack.

“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” he said.

Hassane also added that the community was mourning and urged the public to allow the families to grieve.

“Please let the families mourn, let them pray… It is a house of worship. It’s not a battlefield.”