SAN DIEGO — Five people were killed, including two suspected gunmen, after a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday in what authorities are investigating as a possible hate-motivated attack.
Police said two teenage males opened fire shortly before noon at the mosque complex, killing three men outside the building, including a security guard who officials believe may have helped prevent further casualties.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the two suspects, aged 17 and 19, were later found dead in a vehicle nearby. Investigators believe they died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
All children attending a day school within the mosque compound were accounted for and confirmed safe following the attack, which unfolded at one of the largest Islamic centers in San Diego County.
Law enforcement officers responding to the scene found the bodies of the three victims outside the mosque. Officials said the security guard’s actions likely prevented the violence from spreading further inside the facility.
Wahl said the Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined the investigation, which is being treated as a potential hate crime. Authorities are still working to establish the motive and sequence of events leading to the shooting.
In a separate but possibly related incident, police reported that shots were fired at a landscaper a few blocks away. The worker was not injured, and investigators have not confirmed whether the incident is connected to the mosque attack.
Officials said the investigation remains active as authorities review evidence and determine whether additional threats or accomplices may be involved.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
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