Three killed in San Diego mosque attack, hate crime probe underway

Gunfire tore through the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont, killing three men and triggering a hate-crime investigation after two teenage suspects, ages 17 and 18, were later found dead in a vehicle a few blocks away from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

The warning signs surfaced hours earlier. Around 9:40 a.m., one suspect’s mother called police to report that her son was missing with her weapons and vehicle. Officers said she described him as suicidal, and the search intensified when police learned he was dressed in camouflage and was with an acquaintance. San Diego police said they responded within four minutes of the shooting call, using automated license plate readers, alerting a nearby mall and notifying Madison High School, where at least one suspect was a student.

The mosque is the largest in San Diego County and also houses the Al Rashid School, which serves students ages 5 and up. More than a dozen children were inside when the shooting began, but police said no students were harmed and all were escorted out safely. Imam Taha Hassane said the center is focused on interfaith relations, and non-Muslim visitors had been touring the mosque earlier that day to learn about Islam. He also said the slain mosque security guard had warned teachers to lock doors.

Authorities said the attack is being examined as a hate crime and that investigators found evidence of generalized hate rhetoric, though no specific threat had been made against the mosque. The FBI served three search warrants at residences tied to the suspects and seized more than 30 guns, a crossbow, ammunition, tactical gear and electronics. The case has become a stark example of how quickly youth radicalization can turn into mass violence when access to weapons, online hate and vulnerable targets converge.

NBC News identified the dead as Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad. Local Muslim organizations said the three men helped protect children and staff inside the center, and San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the security guard’s actions were heroic and undoubtedly saved lives. More than $1.4 million has been raised for Abdullah’s family.

The attack came nearly seven years after the Poway synagogue shooting in nearby Poway and the 2019 arson at Dar-ul-Arqam mosque in Escondido, a reminder that anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish violence has repeatedly surfaced in the San Diego area. Mayor Todd Gloria called the mosque shooting a violent act of hate, and investigators now face the same hard question that has followed other attacks on houses of worship: how to detect radicalization early enough to stop it.