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Two teenage gunmen opened fire at a California mosque on Monday and killed three men before killing themselves a few blocks away, police said.
Police Chief Scott Wahl said a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego was among those killed and that the case is being investigated as a hate crime.
About two hours before the attack, the mother of one of the suspects called police to report that her son was missing, Wahl told a news conference.
She feared he might be suicidal, and she eventually realized that several of her weapons were missing, along with her vehicle.
The case became even more urgent when police learned that he was dressed in camouflage and that he was in the company of an acquaintance, and officers began using whatever technology they had available to locate the teens, including automated license plate readers.
Wahl said that’s when police began getting reports of a shooting.
There had been no specific threat made against the Islamic Center of San Diego, but San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said investigators were aware of “generalized hate rhetoric” in the case and are investigating the attack as a hate crime.
Wahl noted that the mother of one of the suspects found a note he left behind, but the chief declined to disclose its contents.
Police responded within four minutes of being called, Wahl said. As they arrived, gunshots rang out a few blocks away where a landscaper was shot at but uninjured. The shooters were found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby, he said.
Aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the parking lot of the centre that is surrounded by scores of police vehicles. The white mosque is in a neighbourhood of homes, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets.
Parents were directed to a nearby area to retrieve their children.
Among those killed was a mosque security guard, who police believe “played a pivotal role” in keeping the attack from being “much worse,” Wahl said.
‘Our hearts go out to the families’
The Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its website. It’s about 15 kilometres north of downtown San Diego.
The centre includes the Al Rashid School that offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran for students ages 5 and up, according to its website.
“All of the kids are safe,” Wahl said, appearing emotional. “Our hearts go out to the families that are in this moment being notified of what has happened to their loved ones.”
The mosque’s director, Imam Taha Hassane called it “extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.”
The director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, Imam Taha Hassane, decried the deadly shooting at the mosque on Monday that police say is being investigated as a hate crime. ‘All the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected,” he said.
“All the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected,” he said.
He added the centre focused on interfaith relations and community building, and that a group of non-Muslims had been touring the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.
The Islamic centre’s website says its mission is to not only serve the Muslim population but also “work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation.”
Five daily prayers are held there, and the mosque works with other organizations and people of all faiths on social causes.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S., condemned the shooting.
“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” said CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam in a statement.
“We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said he was being briefed.
“We are grateful to the first responders on the scene working to protect the community and urge everyone to follow guidance from local authorities,” his office posted on the social platform X.
