Minor suspects, hate crime… What we know about the deadly shooting at an Islamic center in San…

An attack by gunmen took place on Monday, May 18 at an Islamic center in San Diego, housing a mosque and a school. The two alleged shooters killed three people before taking their own lives. Three people were killed on the same day in an attack on an Islamic center in San Diego, California. The two teenage suspects believed to be the shooters committed suicide on site before the police arrived, according to US authorities, bringing the total number of deaths to five. Five dead, including the two suspected shooters Around noon, two people stormed into the Islamic center of San Diego, a facility that houses the largest mosque in this southern California region as well as a school for children. The two young men opened fire and killed three people, including a security guard, outside the center. The father of eight children reportedly played a crucial role in preventing the situation from getting worse and “saving lives,” according to local police. The shooters also appear to have targeted a neighborhood gardener, but failed to injure him, according to CNN. The police were quickly contacted and deployed heavily armed officers on site, four minutes after the first emergency calls. The two alleged shooters were eventually found “dead in a car near the scene,” said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. “At this point, it seems that the suspects died from gunshot wounds that they inflicted on themselves,” he continued at a press conference. A minor left a “note” before fleeing with three weapons The suspected shooters are 17 and 18 years old according to San Diego Police Chief, who initially mistakenly announced that the oldest was 19. The younger one had been reported to the police as a “runaway minor” by his mother early in the morning, explained Scott Wahl. She described her son as “suicidal” and said he had disappeared with her car and three weapons. According to her description, her son left with a friend and both were dressed in camouflage gear. This prompted the police to send officers around his high school, before reports of gunfire at the mosque. The young man had been taking online classes since 2021 and only came to the high school for sports activities, a spokesperson for the San Diego Unified School District told CNN. He was part of the wrestling club from 2024 to 2025, but did not participate in any school activities this year. He was supposed to graduate later this month. The police also announced that the student left a note behind in the morning before fleeing, without revealing its contents. According to CNN, it contained remarks about “racial pride.” The track of a “hate crime” is favored While the motives of the shooters remain unclear, the police chief has already ruled out the track of a suicidal teenager. “A suicidal person wouldn’t take three weapons.” The police is currently treating this case as an Islamophobic attack. “Given the location of the Islamic center, we consider this a hate crime until proven otherwise,” said Scott Wahl. The initial elements of the investigation clearly show “involvement of hate speech,” he stressed. Law enforcement agents told CNN that hateful messages had been written on one of the weapons. “There was no specific threat, especially no specific threat against the Islamic center, it was just a type of general hate speech covering a wide range,” added the police chief. The investigation is still “actively” ongoing. A community in shock This attack occurred on the first day of Dhu al-Hijja, a sacred period for the Muslim community. “My community is mourning,” shared one of the imams of the center, Taha Hassane, warning against “religious intolerance and unprecedented hatred” in the United States. He described targeting a place of worship as “scandalous.” “We have never experienced such a tragedy,” he added. “It’s something we never imagined would happen.” After the incident, several members of the community gathered in the neighborhood to share their grief. In a statement, the mosque announced that it would remain closed until further notice. The Islamic center has set up a support fund for the victims and their families, which has raised over $264,000 in less than 24 hours. “Hate has no place in San Diego,” denounces the mayor Several local politicians quickly denounced the attack. “Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate any acts of terror and intimidation against religious communities,” reacted the Governor of California. “People of the world should not fear for their lives.” “Hate has no place in San Diego,” added the city’s mayor Todd Gloria. “We stand united against Islamophobia and all forms of violence against our communities. An attack on any of our communities is an attack on all of us.” US President Donald Trump lamented a “terrible situation.” Following the attack, the New York police and the city’s mayor Zohran Mamdani announced increased security around the city’s mosques “as a precaution,” although there is “no known threat to New York places of worship.”