A horrific act of violence has shaken the Muslim community in Southern California, after a mass shooting at the region’s largest mosque left three people dead on Monday, with the two teenage attackers dying from self-inflicted gunshot wounds shortly after the assault, local law enforcement confirmed.
According to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl, emergency dispatch received an active shooter call targeting the Islamic Center of San Diego — a sprawling worship complex that also hosts an adjacent school — and first responders arrived at the scene in just four minutes. When officers pulled up to the property, they immediately found three deceased victims lying outside the center’s main building. One of those killed has been confirmed as a security guard employed by the mosque, though the identities of the other two victims have not been released to the public as of Monday evening.
Authorities also received follow-up reports of additional gunfire near the campus, where a local landscaper working in the area came under fire but escaped without injury. Law enforcement teams launched an immediate active shooter sweep of the mosque and the connected school, confirming that all staff, teachers and children inside the facility were unharmed. Following a short lockdown order that urged local residents to shelter in place, police announced the threat had been fully neutralized.
Aerial television footage from the scene showed dozens of law enforcement patrol cars surrounding the mosque complex, with heavily armed response units congregating outside the main building and one person visible lying on the ground in a large pool of blood. A short distance from the worship center, officers found the suspects’ vehicle parked in the middle of a street, with the two attackers — a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old — dead inside from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Chief Wahl confirmed that no officers fired their weapons during the response to the attack.
Mosque imam Taha Hassane expressed shock and grief over the unprecedented attack on the community’s place of worship. “We have never experienced tragedy like this before. And at this moment all that I can say is, sending our prayers and standing in solidarity with all the families in our community here,” Hassane said. “It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.”
Political leaders across levels of government have offered responses to the violence. Former U.S. President Donald Trump called the shooting a “terrible situation” during a press briefing, noting that he had received initial updates and would be reviewing the incident closely. California Governor Gavin Newsom was also briefed on the attack immediately after it unfolded, with his press office releasing a statement on social media platform X thanking first responders for their rapid work to secure the area and protect local residents, while urging the public to follow instructions from local law enforcement.
The attack has prompted renewed conversations about religious-based violence and gun safety in the United States, as the San Diego Police Department continues to process evidence at the scene and investigate the motive for the assault on the Muslim community.