San Diego mosque shooting: What we know about the victims and the attackers

Two teenage gunmen opened occurrence astatine a mosque successful San Diego connected Monday, killing 3 men earlier aboriginal sidesplitting themselves, according to police.

Authorities said the onslaught astatine the Islamic Center of San Diego is being investigated arsenic a imaginable hatred crime.

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• list 1 of 1Two teen gunmen termination 3 astatine San Diego mosque successful suspected hatred crime

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters that investigators are inactive moving to find what led to the shooting, adding that much details astir the circumstances surrounding the onslaught are expected to look successful the coming days.

The onslaught came the week earlier the Muslim vacation of Eid al-Adha, oregon Feast of the Sacrifice, and the yearly Hajj pilgrimage to the beatified tract of Mecca successful Saudi Arabia.

Here is what we cognize truthful far:

What happened astatine the San Diego mosque?

At astir 9:42am section clip (16:42 GMT) connected Monday, constabulary received a telephone from a parent reporting a “runaway juvenile”, Wahl said.

“The accusation that she was gathering and conveying to america began to elevate the menace level that we were perceiving,” Wahl added. “She believed her lad was suicidal, and she began to stock accusation that respective of her weapons were missing, her conveyance was missing, successful summation to her son.”

Roughly 2 hours later, astatine astir 11:43am section clip (18:43 GMT), officers responded to reports of an progressive shooter successful the 7000 artifact of Eckstrom Avenue, arriving wrong astir 4 minutes, authorities said.

Wahl said arsenic galore arsenic 100 instrumentality enforcement officers entered the Islamic Center of San Diego aft receiving reports of a imaginable shooting astatine the mosque.

When officers arrived, they recovered 3 radical dormant extracurricular the building, prompting what Wahl described arsenic an “active shooter response” wrong the complex.

“They did person to breach doors to get into each of the antithetic rooms,” Wahl told reporters astatine a quality conference. “There was determination betwixt 50 to 100 constabulary officers wrong of that facility.”

“No officers discharged their weapons,” Wahl added.

As constabulary secured the area, gunfire erupted a fewer blocks away, wherever a landscaper was changeable astatine but not injured, according to Wahl. The suspected attackers were aboriginal recovered dormant wrong a conveyance stopped connected a adjacent road.

Television aerial footage showed much than a twelve children holding hands arsenic they were escorted from the mosque’s car parkland portion the country was surrounded by constabulary vehicles.

“I’ll archer you what got me,” Wahl said. “Watching kids travel moving out, conscionable thankful to beryllium alive.”

Officials said they are treating the shooting arsenic a hatred transgression probe unless grounds suggests otherwise.

Two women respond arsenic they permission a reunification centre pursuing the shooting astatine the Islamic Center of San Diego successful confederate California, connected May 18, 2026 [AFP]

Where did the shooting happen?

According to its website, the mosque is the largest successful San Diego county, serving a congregation of much than 5,000 people.

The analyzable besides houses Al Rashid School, which offers classes successful Arabic, Islamic studies and the Quran for children aged 5 and older.

Located successful a neighbourhood of homes, flat buildings and portion malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets, the mosque describes its ngo arsenic serving the spiritual needs of San Diego’s Muslim assemblage portion besides supporting and educating the wider public.

The centre says its activities see 5 regular prayers, Friday sermons, acquisition talks and assemblage seminars, and that it welcomes visitors from each faiths.

Speaking soon aft the shooting, Taha Hassane, an imam astatine the Islamic Center, condemned the attack.

“It is highly outrageous to people a spot of worship,” helium said. “People travel to the Islamic Center to pray, to celebrate, to larn – not lone Muslims, but we person radical from each walks of life.”

The Islamic Center is astir 14km (9 miles) northbound of downtown San Diego.

What bash we cognize astir the attackers?

The 2 suspects recovered dormant wrong a conveyance were teenagers, authorities said. Wahl said they were 17 and 19 years old.

Authorities person released constricted details astir them.

Police said the parent who contacted authorities earlier successful the time told investigators the brace were dressed successful camouflage covering and travelling unneurotic successful a conveyance that had been reported missing.

“We besides gathered accusation that 1 of the individuals was associated successful immoderate signifier oregon manner with Madison High School,” Wahl said, adding that officers and schoolhouse constabulary accrued information astir the school’s field during the investigation.

The parent besides recovered a note, Wahl said. He did not disclose its contents but said of the case, “There was decidedly hatred rhetoric that was involved,” though determination was nary circumstantial menace against the Islamic Center of San Diego, helium added.

Authorities said the teenagers killed 3 people, including a information defender who worked astatine the mosque, earlier aboriginal sidesplitting themselves.

What bash we cognize astir the victims?

Among the deceased victims was a information defender who worked astatine the centre and “played a pivotal role” successful preventing the onslaught from being “much worse”, officials said.

“It’s just to accidental his actions were heroic,” Wahl said. “Undoubtedly, helium saved lives today.”

Authorities person not yet publically identified the 3 victims. But assemblage leaders person identified the defender arsenic Amin Abdullah. Local media reports suggested helium was a begetter of eight.

What person been the reactions?

The Council connected American-Islamic Relations condemned the shooting.

“No 1 should ever fearfulness for their information portion attending prayers oregon studying astatine an simple school,” said CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam successful a statement. “We are moving to larn much astir this incident, and we promote everyone to support this assemblage successful your prayers.”

“Islamophobia endangers Muslim communities crossed this country,” Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s archetypal Muslim mayor, said. “We indispensable face it straight and basal unneurotic against the authorities of fearfulness and division.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom released a connection that helium was “horrified by today’s convulsive attack”, adding that “hate has nary spot successful California.”

What is the authorities of Islamophobia successful the US?

US civilian rights advocates person for years warned astir rising Islamophobia, linking it to the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the alleged warfare connected panic that followed, and much recently, to anti-immigration rhetoric, achromatic supremacist movements and tensions surrounding Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza.

CAIR said it recorded 8,683 anti-Muslim and anti-Arab complaints successful 2025, the highest fig since the organisation began publishing information successful 1996.

In a report, CAIR said galore Muslims and radical advocating for Palestinian rights progressively felt targeted by authorities policies, governmental rhetoric and nationalist suspicion.

“Government actions and authoritative rhetoric treated Muslims, and radical who talk up for Palestinian quality rights, arsenic suspicious and extracurricular the ellipse of protected spiritual and civic beingness successful 2025,” the study said.

A abstracted survey published successful April by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate recovered a crisp emergence successful anti-Muslim rhetoric from Republican elected officials since aboriginal 2025. Researchers cited much than 1,100 societal media posts by Republican governors and members of Congress that the radical classified arsenic anti-Muslim bigotry.

Rights groups person besides pointed to increasing threats and attacks against mosques, Islamic schools and Muslim assemblage centres crossed the US successful caller years.

In February, shots were fired astatine the Pike County Islamic Center successful Matamoras, Pennsylvania, during the beatified period of Ramadan, damaging windows and furnishings wrong the mosque.

In October 2023, six-year-old Palestinian American lad Wadea Al-Fayoume was killed successful Illinois aft prosecutors said his landlord stabbed him and his parent successful what authorities described arsenic a hatred transgression linked to the warfare connected Gaza.

Muslim elected officials person besides repeatedly faced threats and harassment. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, 1 of the archetypal Muslim women elected to Congress, has often been targeted with decease threats and anti-Muslim abuse.

What is the latest successful the area?

Authorities said they person reduced the “Genasys advisory zone”, a geographically targeted nationalist information alert area, astir the Islamic Center of San Diego arsenic the probe moves from the exigency effect signifier into what officials described arsenic the “investigative phase”.

The restricted country has present been narrowed to Eckstrom Avenue, Cosmo Street, Balboa Avenue and Hathaway Street, according to officials, who continued to impulse residents to debar the country portion investigators stay astatine the scene.

Police besides encouraged residents to download the Genasys Protect app to person exigency and nationalist information alerts straight for their area.