Three people were killed on Monday in an attack on a mosque in San Diego, California, by two teenagers who committed suicide before the police arrived, according to American authorities. The two gunmen burst into the Islamic Center of San Diego late in the morning, which houses the largest mosque in the city of 1.4 million inhabitants, as well as a school for children. They killed three people, all men including a security guard, and were found dead in a car near the place of worship.
“At this point, it appears that the suspects died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds,” said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl, referring to a “hate crime,” during a press conference. NBC identified them on Tuesday as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18. Their motivations are difficult to clarify. “There was clearly a speech of hate,” reassured Scott Wahl. “There was no specific threat, especially no threat targeting the Islamic center, it was simply a type of hate speech in general that covered a wide range.” According to CNN, citing sources on site, hateful remarks were scribbled on one of the weapons used.
The shooting prompted a massive deployment of heavily armed police officers. When the first responders arrived on site, four minutes after the initial alerts, they discovered “three dead” in front of the Islamic center. Among these victims, a security guard reportedly “played a crucial role in preventing the situation from being much worse.”
The children were evacuated from the school and all placed in safety, according to authorities. Before taking their own lives, the two gunmen also seem to have targeted a neighborhood gardener, failing to injure him, according to the police. One of the gunmen had been reported to the police as a “runaway minor” by his mother, early in the morning, explained Mr. Wahl. She presented her son as “suicidal” and explained that he had disappeared with her car and several weapons. According to her description, her son left with a friend and the two were “dressed in camouflage.”
President Donald Trump described it as a “terrible situation.” “My community is in mourning. It is something we never imagined would happen,” lamented one of the mosque’s imams, Taha Hassane, warning against “unprecedented religious intolerance and hatred” in the United States. With more firearms in circulation than inhabitants, the United States has the highest gun-related mortality rate among developed countries.
(Short Context: The article describes a tragic incident where two teenagers attacked a mosque in San Diego, killing three people before committing suicide. The motives behind the attack are unclear, and the incident has caused shock and mourning in San Diego and across the United States.)
(Fact Check: The content reflects accurate information about the attack on the mosque in San Diego and the response from authorities and community members, including President Trump’s remarks on the incident.)
