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Three adult men, one of whom was a security guard, were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, authorities said.
The security guard appeared to play a “pivotal role” in keeping the shooting from “being much worse,” police said at a news conference, noting that the victims were found out front of the center.
Both suspects, ages 17 and 19, are dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.
People stand behind police tape at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, May 18, 2026.
Gregory Bull/AP Photo
Emergency workers respond at the scene of a reported active shooter situation at the Islamic Center in San Diego, Calif., May 18, 2026.
Mike Blake/Reuters
All children are safe, police said.
Photos show children being evacuated from the area.
Police are investigating a potential motive but said the shooting is currently being considered a hate crime.
One person suffered a “non-firearm-related injury while responding to the incident” and was taken to San Diego’s Sharp Memorial Hospital, according to hospital officials.
People are led away by police from the Islamic Center of San Diego, May 18, 2026.
KGTV
People are led away by police from the Islamic Center of San Diego, May 18, 2026.
KGTV
While officers were responding to the Islamic Center of San Diego, the police department “began to receive calls from just a couple blocks away that we had more active gunfire,” police said at the news conference. At that scene, a landscaper was shot at, but not hit, police said.
Shooting at San Diego Islamic Center
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“Moments later,” police said, officers were called to another location where they found a car in the middle of the street, and there police said they discovered both suspects dead.
A woman cries at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, May 18, 2026, in San Diego.
Gregory Bull/AP Photo
People embrace at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, May 18, 2026, in San Diego.
Gregory Bull/AP Photo
The Islamic Center of San Diego says it is the largest mosque in San Diego County.
“We have never experienced a tragedy like this before,” Taha Hassan, Imam and Director of Islamic Center of San Diego, said at the news conference.
Hassan said he’s sending “prayers and standing in solidarity with all the families in our community here, and also the other mosques, and all the places of worship in our beautiful city.”
A sheriff’s deputy stages at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, May 18, 2026.
Gregory Bull/AP Photo
“We strongly condemn this horrifying act of violence,” Tazheen Nizam, the executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this attack. No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school.”
In New York City, the NYPD said there’s “no known nexus to NYC or specific threats to NYC houses of worship,” but the department said it is increasing officer deployments to mosques “out of an abundance of caution.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
