3 killed in San Diego mosque shooting, police investigate hate crime

Gunfire outside San Diego’s largest mosque left three adult men dead, including a security guard police said acted heroically and likely saved lives before the attack ended in a second crime scene a few blocks away.

The shooting unfolded at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont, a mosque described by multiple outlets as the largest in San Diego County. Police said the first call came in at 11:45 a.m., and officers reached the scene within four minutes. By then, the victims had been found outside the center, and investigators were treating the attack as a hate crime.

San Diego police identified the suspects as two teenagers, ages 17 and 18, who were later found dead in a vehicle a few blocks from the mosque from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Authorities said both were believed to be wearing camouflage. The FBI said it was assisting San Diego law enforcement and assessing the active shooter incident.

Police said the security guard was among those killed. Chief Scott Wahl described the guard’s actions as heroic, saying they likely prevented the attack from becoming far worse. A landscaper was also shot at a nearby location but was not injured, underscoring how quickly the violence spilled beyond the mosque grounds.

Investigators also said the mother of one suspect had called police about two hours before the shooting, reporting her son missing and saying she feared he might be suicidal. She told police that weapons and a vehicle were missing as well. That sequence has become a central part of the investigation as detectives work to determine motive and how the teens reached the mosque.

The attack has sharpened scrutiny of security at houses of worship, especially for Muslim communities that have long pressed for stronger protection against targeted violence. At the Islamic Center of San Diego, the killings turned a place of prayer into the focus of a homicide and hate-crime investigation, with federal and local authorities now trying to piece together how two armed teenagers reached one of the region’s most prominent Islamic centers and why they opened fire there.

San Diego police have not said what prompted the attack, but the case now sits at the intersection of public safety, religious intimidation and the repeated vulnerability of worshipers gathered in open, accessible spaces.