The shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego unfolded after police had already been searching for one of the teenagers involved, authorities said Monday. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said two teenage shooters opened fire at the mosque, killing three men, and then killed themselves a few blocks away.
Wahl told reporters that while there was no specific threat made against the Islamic Center of San Diego, investigators found evidence that the suspects engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric.” He said he would release more details about the circumstances that led up to the attack in the days ahead.
Before the attack began, officers were already looking for one of the teenagers after his mother called police to report concerns that her son was suicidal and had run away, Wahl said. He added that weapons were missing from the home and that the mother’s vehicle was also gone.
As police intensified the search, Wahl said authorities learned that the teenager was dressed in camouflage and was with an acquaintance—details he said were unexpected for someone police believed might be about to die by suicide. Officers used multiple methods to find the 17- and 18-year-old suspects, including automated license plate readers, Wahl said, and dispatched officers to a mall near where the car had been tracked.
Wahl said officers also alerted a school where at least one of the suspects had been a student. While officers continued interviewing the mother about where the teens might be, reports came in about a shooting at the mosque. Wahl said police arrived within four minutes of being called.
As officers responded, gunshots were heard a few blocks away where a landscaper was shot but was uninjured, Wahl said. Wahl added that the shooters were later found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby.
Among those killed was a mosque security guard whom police believed “played a pivotal role” in keeping the attack from being “much worse,” Wahl said. In remarks later at a news conference, Wahl said: “It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” and “Undoubtedly he saved lives today.”
A family friend identified the guard as Amin Abdullah, a well-known presence at the mosque who had been working there for more than a decade, according to the report. Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq said Abdullah “wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard,” adding that he spoke with Abdullah’s son.
Outside the mosque, Imam Taha Hassane called the attack “extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.” He said the center focuses on interfaith relations and community building, and he said a group of non-Muslims had been touring the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group, condemned the shooting. CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam said, “No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” and that CAIR-San Diego was working to learn more about the incident.
President Donald Trump called the shooting a “terrible situation,” according to the report.