Suspected hate-fuelled shooting at San Diego mosque leaves three dead
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A suspected hate crime is being investigated following the killing of three people during a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in California, where two suspects, believed to be teenagers, were later found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, while a security guard at the centre, whose reported heroic intervention is believed to have shielded children from harm, was among those killed, according to the FBI.
The mosque situated in San Diego’s Clairemont district, the largest mosque in San Diego County, was abruptly transformed into a theatre of terror just moments before the midday prayer, prompting federal authorities to launch an extensive investigation into what officials described as a possible act of religiously motivated violence.
San Diego police chief Scott Wahl said the mother of one of the suspects had alerted authorities nearly two hours before the bloodshed, informing officers that her teenage son had disappeared along with several firearms and her vehicle, following which police had begun searching for the pair before receiving an emergency call from the Islamic centre.
Officers who arrived at the mosque complex found three victims lying fatally wounded, while, almost simultaneously, dispatchers received another distress call reporting gunfire from a moving vehicle only two blocks away. Wahl added that a landscaper nearby may have survived after a bullet struck his protective helmet and ricocheted away.
Authorities confirmed that no children attending the centre’s school were harmed, although panic and anguish rapidly engulfed families gathered for worship and study. Officials further stated that the slain security guard had played a pivotal role in minimising the scale of the attack, with Wahl describing his conduct as “heroic” and asserting that his actions had “undoubtedly” saved lives.
San Diego mayor Todd Gloria condemned the attack in emphatic terms, declaring that hatred and Islamophobia had no place in the city, while California governor Gavin Newsom said state emergency services were coordinating with local law enforcement agencies.
Imam Taha Hassane, the director of the center, implored the nation to foster a culture of love over religious intolerance, prompting the Council on American-Islamic Relations to issue an unequivocal condemnation of this horrifying violation of a sacred space.
Meanwhile, Federal Bureau of Investigation officials confirmed that the two suspects, aged 17 and 18, were believed to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds and stressed that no law enforcement officers had discharged their weapons during the confrontation.