Five dead after Islamic Center of San Diego shooting. What we know so far

Five people are dead, including two suspects, after a suspected "hate crime" shooting at a San Diego-area Islamic center on Monday, May 18.

The shooting, which happened at the Islamic Center of San Diego, was first reported by the San Diego Police Department on Monday, at around 12 p.m. local time. The Islamic Center hosts daily prayers and includes a school on the grounds.

The department said that the "threat at the Islamic center has been neutralized" in a post on X shortly after 4 p.m. ET. In a press conference shortly after, Chief Scott Wahl of the San Diego police confirmed the number of casualties at five, which included two suspects as well as three people inside the center.

“We have never experienced a tragedy like this before,” Imam Taha Hassane said during Monday’s press conference.

Here’s what we know so far.

What happened?

As of 2 p.m. PT on May 18, police said during a news conference that they were still gathering information about the shooting.

Police said they began receiving calls from the center at around 11:30 a.m. about reports of an active shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Officials said that officers arrived at the scene in four minutes, and that reports of the shooting came from outside the building as a landscaper near the mosque was fired at by the suspects.

Police said that once officers arrived at the center, they saw three men associated with the center dead at the scene, with one of them being the center's security guard.

Wahl said during Monday’s press conference that both suspects were found dead in a vehicle nearby, with both suspects aged 17 and 19.

In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the shooting, calling it a “horrifying act of violence.”

“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. We are working to learn more about this incident, and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers,” CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam said.

USA TODAY’s James Powel contributed to this report.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.