Two teenage gunmen opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, killing three people before taking their own lives in an attack authorities are treating as a potential hate crime.
Officers were first alerted when a mother reported that her teenage son had run away with her vehicle and several weapons, according to Al Jazeera.
“The information that she was gathering and conveying to us began to elevate the threat level that we were perceiving. She believed her son was suicidal and began to share information that several of her weapons were missing, her vehicle was missing, in addition to her son,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
About two hours later, up to 100 officers responded to reports of an active shooter at the mosque on Eckstrom Avenue. Officers arrived within four minutes and found three people dead outside the building.
“They did have to breach doors to get into all of the different rooms. There was somewhere between 50 to 100 police officers inside of that facility. No officers discharged their weapons,” Wahl said.
Authorities said the suspected gunmen later fired at nearby landscapers, who escaped unharmed, before the suspects were found dead from gunshot wounds inside a vehicle.
The victims were identified as 78-year-old Mansour Kaziha, a founding member of the center, 57-year-old neighbor Nader Awad, who rushed to help because his wife taught at the mosque, and 51-year-old security guard Amin Abdullah.
Abdullah likely saved lives by firing back at the attackers and helping secure the building while children were being evacuated, according to officials.
The attackers were identified as 18-year-old Caleb Liam Vasquez and 17-year-old Cain Lee Clark.
“Islamophobia endangers Muslim communities across this country. We must confront it directly and stand together against the politics of fear and division,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, condemning the incident.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also expressed solidarity with the victims.
“Hate has no place in California. To the San Diego Muslim community: we stand with you,” Newsom said.