Three men, including a security guard, were killed after two teenage gunmen opened fire outside the Islamic Center of San Diego in California on Monday in an attack police are investigating as a hate crime.
A short time later, investigators discovered the bodies of two teenage males, aged 17 and 19, inside a vehicle parked on a nearby street. Police believe the suspects died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds after carrying out the attack.
The shooting erupted shortly before noon outside the mosque complex, the largest Islamic centre in San Diego County, triggering a massive police response and panic among worshippers and students inside the premises.
According to Reuters, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said all children attending the day school operating within the mosque complex were safely accounted for and unharmed following the attack.
Kids being evacuated from the Mosque in San Diego after the shooting today pic.twitter.com/rSP9znG1II— Hussein Mizoury (@husseinmizoury) May 18, 2026
According to police, officers arriving at the scene found three men shot dead outside the building. One of the victims was a security guard whom authorities credited with possibly preventing even greater bloodshed during the assault.
Three adult men, one of whom was a security guard, were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, local police said.
Two suspects are also dead, police said. All children who were at the center are safe.https://t.co/L70fOeVDiN pic.twitter.com/LZbZMrXZkN— ABC News (@ABC) May 18, 2026
Authorities said investigators were still working to determine the motive behind the attack and reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the violence. The FBI has joined the investigation.
Police are treating the shooting as a suspected hate crime targeting the Muslim community.
In a separate incident occurring a few blocks away, shots were reportedly fired at a landscaper. The individual was not injured, and police have not yet confirmed whether the incident was connected to the mosque attack.
Source: India Today
