San Diego mosque shooting investigated as hate crime, three killed

A mother’s warning about her runaway son, and the weapons and vehicle he left with, set off a frantic police search that ended with three men dead outside the Islamic Center of San Diego and two teenage suspects found dead in a nearby car. San Diego police are investigating the attack as a hate crime, and the evidence now points to a fast-moving assault on the largest mosque in San Diego County.

The suspects were 17 and 18 years old, according to San Diego police Chief Scott Wahl. One teen’s mother called officers about two hours before the shooting to say her son had run away with her weapons and vehicle. Police said she described him as suicidal. As investigators learned he was wearing camouflage and was with an acquaintance, they widened the search, using automated license plate readers, sending officers to a nearby mall and alerting Madison High School, where at least one shooter was a student.

Gunfire erupted Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego in the Clairemont neighborhood, just as officers were trying to locate the armed teenagers. As police arrived, shots were also reported a few blocks away, where a landscaper was fired at but not hurt. The suspects were later found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a nearby road.

Authorities identified the three men killed Tuesday, describing them as a security guard and two community members who risked their lives for others. Their deaths have deepened fear in Muslim communities that already know how quickly a place of worship can become a target. Mayor Todd Gloria ordered flags at city facilities lowered to half-staff and said San Diego was mourning with the victims’ families and the Muslim community.

Investigators also recovered dozens of weapons and a manifesto from homes linked to the suspects, and believe the teenagers were radicalized online and formed their plan after realizing they were both in the San Diego area. The manifesto reportedly showed broad hatred toward multiple races and religions, underscoring the indiscriminate nature of the violence and the challenge of spotting extremist intent before it turns lethal.

The attack fits a grim pattern in the region. San Diego County has already endured extremist violence at houses of worship, including the 2019 shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue and a 2019 attempted arson at the Dar-ul-Arqam mosque in Escondido. A Tuesday-night vigil called for peace and honored the victims as heroes, while Muslim families across the country absorbed yet another reminder that worship spaces remain vulnerable to hate.