The Islamic Center of San Diego became the scene of a deadly attack on Monday, when two teenage shooters opened fire inside the mosque and killed three men before fatally shooting themselves nearby, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
Police said the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, though Wahl declined to provide more details about the evidence and said investigators would explain “the circumstances that led up to this” in the days ahead.
In an outline of what authorities learned during their search for one of the teenagers before the mosque attack, Wahl said officers were already looking for him after his mother called police. Wahl said the mother was concerned her son was suicidal and had run away, and he added that there were weapons missing from the home and that the mother’s vehicle was gone.
Wahl said the urgency of the search increased after police learned the teenager was dressed in camouflage and was with an acquaintance—details Wahl described as unexpected for someone about to die by suicide. Police began using technology including automated license plate readers and dispatched officers to a mall where the car had been tracked, and they also alerted a school where at least one of the suspects had been a student.
While officers continued interviewing the mother about potential locations, reports came in about a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Among the three men killed was a mosque security guard, whom Wahl said police believe “played a pivotal role” in keeping the attack from being “much worse.”
Wahl later described the security guard’s actions as heroic. “It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” Wahl said at a later news conference. “Undoubtedly he saved lives today.” A family friend identified the guard as Amin Abdullah, and Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who said he had spoken with Abdullah’s son, said Abdullah “wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard.”
Police said they arrived within four minutes of being called. Wahl said gunshots were heard as officers pulled up, with a landscaper reported shot a few blocks away but uninjured, and he said the shooters were found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby.
Video shown on television captured children being walked out of the Islamic Center’s parking lot as the mosque was surrounded by police vehicles. Wahl directed parents to a nearby area so they could retrieve their children.
Imam Taha Hassane, the mosque director, said it was “extremely outrageous to target a place of worship,” and added that “all the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected.” Hassane said the center focuses on interfaith relations and community building and that a group of non-Muslims had been touring the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.
Hassane’s remarks came as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and President Donald Trump condemned the attack. CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam said in a statement, “No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” and that the group was working to learn more about the incident. Trump called it a “terrible situation,” according to the Associated Press report.