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Teen suspects fatally shoot three at San Diego mosque as a security guard and father of eight dies trying to stop the carnage
The attackers were teenagers. One seventeen. The other eighteen. They arrived at the largest mosque in San Diego County on Monday morning and opened fire. Three men were shot dead outside the front entrance. Then the suspects drove away, fired at a landscaper, and turned the guns on themselves. police found their bodies in a vehicle blocks away.
Among the dead was a security guard who worked at the Islamic Center. He was a father of eight. Police Chief Scott Wahl said the man played a pivotal role in preventing the attack from becoming far worse. His actions were described as heroic. He undoubtedly saved lives.
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Teen suspects fatally shoot three at San Diego mosque after a mother’s desperate warning came too late
Two hours before the shooting, the mother of one of the suspects called the police. Her son had run away with a friend. He had taken several of her guns and her car. Both were dressed in camouflage. She said he might be suicidal. Officers were still speaking with her when the first shots rang out. They were only blocks away from the mosque.
Police rushed to the scene and found three victims already dead outside the building. Officers cleared the mosque room by room. Children were inside attending classes at the Al Rashid School on the campus. Nearby schools went into lockdown. Aerial footage showed kids holding hands and being escorted through the parking lot.
A note left behind by one of the suspects contained generalized hate speech. No specific threat to the mosque was mentioned. Investigators are treating the attack as a suspected hate crime because of the target and the writings recovered.
A witness said he heard up to thirty gunshots. A dozen rounds. A pause. Then another dozen. The sound came from what he believed was a semi-automatic weapon. He called emergency services. Police arrived within minutes. They were already hunting for the suspects. They just did not find them in time.
The second shooting happened moments later. The suspects fired from their vehicle at a landscaper. He survived. A bullet may have deflected off his hard hat. Police caught up to the car blocks away and found both attackers dead from self-inflicted wounds.
The Islamic Center’s director said the building is a house of worship, not a battlefield. The Muslim community is days away from Eid al-Adha. The timing is devastating. California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was horrified. President Donald Trump called it a terrible situation and said his administration would look at it very strongly. The FBI has asked the public for any information that could help.
