Three people are dead in a mosque in San Diego, California.
- Authorities mention the intrusion of two presumed shooters, found dead near the place of worship.
Three people died in a mosque in San Diego, California, after the intrusion of two presumed shooters who were found dead near the place of worship, American authorities announced on Monday. “At this stage, it appears that the suspects died as a result of gunshot wounds they inflicted on themselves
,” said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl at a press conference.
“We believe they are 17 and 19 years old”
, he added, without revealing their identities. Their motivations are currently unknown. But according to the police, the case is currently being treated as an Islamophobic attack. Among the three victims killed in the attack, “one of the deceased is a security agent
,” added Mr. Wahl.
According to the initial elements of the investigation, he would have “played a decisive role in avoiding the situation from being much worse.
The two presumed shooters targeted the Islamic Center of San Diego, a facility that houses the largest mosque in this Southern California region and also provides classes for children. The police received calls reporting shots fired around midday and quickly deployed dozens of heavily armed men on the scene.
At the White House, Donald Trump deplored a “terrible situation
. “We have never experienced a tragedy like this before
,” reassured one of the center’s imams, Taha Hassane, in sending his “prayers
” to the city’s Muslim community. “It is extremely scandalous to target a place of worship
,” he said. With more guns in circulation than residents, the United States has the highest rate of firearm mortality of all developed countries.
