Live updates: Deadly shooting at San Diego Islamic center probed as hate crime
Two teenagers opened fire at an Islamic center in San Diego on May 18, killing three people in what police say was a targeted assault now being investigated as a hate crime.
Shortly after the noon shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the two attackers, 17 and 18, were found dead in a vehicle nearby. They died from what appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds and there is no further threat to the public, police said.
When scores of law enforcement arrived at the mosque, they found three men dead, including a security guard. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said in a news briefing that the security officer likely helped prevent further bloodshed.
Imam Taha Hassane of the Islamic Center of San Diego issued a brief statement about the incident that shook the southern California community, telling neighbors "we are safe," and students, teachers and staff at the center's school were also not harmed.
Several blocks around the Islamic center, the largest mosque complex in San Diego County, remained cordoned off with yellow police tape on Monday afternoon. Parents crowded around the entrances of nearby schools to collect their children.
Contributing: Reuters
Security guard's actions were 'heroic,' police chief says
Thao Nguyen
San Diego police said they believe a security guard's actions helped save lives. The security guard, who has not yet been identified by authorities, was one of the three people killed in the attack.
"We do believe the security guard was able to help at least minimize the situation to the front area of the mosque," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at the late afternoon news conference. "I don't want to speculate, but at this point I think it's fair to say his actions were heroic, and undoubtedly he saved lives today."
Wahl also noted that authorities will not yet release the identities of the three people who were killed in the shooting.
"We’ve just basically notified family of those victims. We’re not going to put out their identity right now," Wahl said. "We’re trying to protect kind of what we have. There’s more work to be done, and we want to make sure that we’re preserving some of that for the moment."
Video shows man pushing stroller dive for cover as shots are fired
Michael Loria and Will Carless
Video footage from a Ring doorbell camera near the area of the shooting shows a man dive for cover while pushing a stroller on the street as shots are fired nearby.
An initial salvo of shots is heard in the video and the man reacts, tipping the stroller over as he pulls it up onto the curb. He rights the stroller and runs offscreen.
A white SUV then passes in front of the Ring camera. About eight shots are heard in the video.
'Hate rhetoric' involved in shooting, police say
Thao Nguyen
During another news conference on Monday, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl reiterated that the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.
"At this point, there was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved," he said at the late afternoon news conference. "I’ll leave it at that for now."
Wahl later noted that there had been no specific threat made against the Islamic Center of San Diego or any other facilities. He added that police were aware of "generalized hate rhetoric" in the case and that the mother of one of the suspects found a note he left behind, but the police chief declined to provide additional details.
"Mom believed that her son was suicidal, but the additional bits of information led us to believe that there was a bigger threat picture here that we needed to consider," Wahl said.
Police chief says suspect's mom called the morning of shooting
James Powel
San Diego police received a call about a "runaway juvenile" the morning of the shooting from the mother of one of the suspects that led to a "bigger threat picture," Wahl said at an afternoon news conference.
Wahl said that the mother told officers that her son was suicidal and that three weapons and her car were missing. She also said that her son was with a "companion" dressed in camouflage, according to Wahl.
He added that during the search for the suspects that one was identified as being associated with Madison High School, which is about a mile from the Islamic Center. Police dispatched officers to the area of the school.
"Officers were in the area still talking with mom, trying to piece together where they might be, the locations that she felt that they would be at, and that was just a few blocks away," Wahl said. “Those officers, once they heard what was happening at the Islamic Center, immediately dispatched themselves to the mosque.”
He noted that the mother told investigators that a note was found but did not describe it further. “What that note looks like, what that note says, I’m not going to disclose right now,” Wahl said. However, he added that there was no specific threat to the center or any malls in the area.
The chief updated the age of one suspect to 18, having previously said he was 19. He did not identify the suspects beyond their ages or provide the identity of the victims during the news conference.
Islamic Center of San Diego calls shooting 'painful and traumatic'
Thao Nguyen
The Islamic Center of San Diego said it will be closed until further notice and called Monday’s shooting an “extremely painful and traumatic day for our congregation, students, staff, and the broader San Diego community."
The center asked the community to keep the victims and those affected by the incident in their prayers. The center noted that it will provide updates on counseling and support resources.
"Places of worship are meant to be spaces of peace, prayer, reflection, and community," the center said in a statement on its website. "Violence and hatred have no place in our society."
The Muslim Community Center of Greater San Diego, another mosque about 20 miles north of the Islamic Center of San Diego, also announced that it was closed for the day following the shooting.
“Due to the unfortunate shooting incident at Islamic Center of San Diego, we are closing all activities at MCC for today,” the center said in a Facebook post. “For your safety, please do not visit MCC today.”
CAIR condemns attack at Islamic Center of San Diego
Thao Nguyen
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its San Diego office condemned the shooting at the Islamic Center, 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,” CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam said in a statement. “We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”
Complaints of anti-Muslim bias and discrimination have continued to rise nationwide, “reflecting an ongoing pattern of Islamophobia impacting communities across the country,” according to CAIR’s most recent civil rights report.
The nonprofit, which is the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, received 8,683 complaints nationwide in 2025, according to the report. The report noted that the figure was the highest number of "single-year complaints" CAIR has recorded since its first civil rights report covering 1996 was published.
'To the San Diego Muslim community: we stand with you,' Newsom says
Michael Loria
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement Monday afternoon condemning the shooting and signaling his support for the Islamic center’s community.
"Jennifer and I are horrified by today’s violent attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, where families and children gather, and neighbors worship in peace and fellowship. Today, this community space was shattered by gunfire," Newsom said in a statement with his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom. "Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives."
He added: "To the San Diego Muslim community: we stand with you."
New York, Los Angeles increase police presence near houses of worship
James Powel
Both New York and Los Angeles police announced that they would increase their presence near houses of worship after the shooting.
The New York Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department both said they would boost patrols "out of an abundance of caution" though no known threat was documented in either city.
Police in Washington also said they'll pay "special attention" to religious institutions and houses of worship but said there was no known threat.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that "houses of worship must be true sanctuaries where hate and violence have no place" in a separate announcement of the increased patrols.
Nearby landscaper shot at but unharmed, police say
Michael Loria
San Diego police who responded to the shooting at the Islamic center on Monday were called shortly afterward to a nearby scene where there were reports of "more active gunfire."
Police Chief Scott Wahl said during a news briefing that "a landscaper that was doing his work was shot at and fortunately was not hit," about half a mile south of the Islamic center.
In an update late Monday afternoon, Wahl said the landscaper may have been shot in a helmet he was wearing. The landscaper came under gunfire about two blocks from where the suspects in the Islamic center shooting were found deceased.
"The landscaper is going to be okay, but we are still investigating that scene," the police chief said. "It appears he may have been shot in the helmet that deflected and saved his life, but that is not totally confirmed at this point."
Trump calls shooting 'terrible situation'
Francesca Chambers
President Donald Trump called the shooting a "terrible situation" during a White House event on Monday.
"I've been given some early updates, but we're going to be going back and looking at it very strongly," Trump said.
San Diego hospital activated 'disaster procedures'
Thao Nguyen
Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego confirmed to USA TODAY that it had activated its "disaster procedures" following the shooting at the Islamic Center earlier on Monday. The hospital said it was working with the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services and EMS partners to respond to the situation.
"One individual who sustained a non-firearm-related injury while responding to the incident was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital," spokesperson Erica Carlson told USA TODAY. "We do not expect additional patients from this incident at this time."
Outside the hospital, the scene was largely quiet by the afternoon. A small number of ambulances and hospital staff remained stationed near the entrance as visitors moved in and out of the area.
Aside from the occasional siren and the presence of television crews along the sidewalk, the atmosphere was subdued and traffic around the hospital continued to move steadily.
Friend of security guard killed in shooting says he's shaken
Will Carless
Obsa Usman, a 42-year old trucker originally from Ethiopia, said he worships at the Islamic center most days and that he was friends with the security guard who was killed in Monday's shooting. Usman said he has never felt anything other than welcome since arriving in San Diego 16 years ago, but the shooting had shaken him.
"This is one of the places that I feel relaxed and safe," Usman said. "This is not going to stop me from going there, but my feelings have completely changed. I feel really sad for the parents who had kids over there during the shooting."
Suspected shooters found dead blocks away from center
Michael Loria
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl in a news conference following the shooting said the suspected gunmen were found deceased in a vehicle blocks away from the Islamic Center of San Diego.
Wahl said police were called to the Islamic center at 11:43 and shortly afterwards were dispatched to the 3800 block of Hatton Street, about a mile south of the center, "where they found a vehicle in the middle of the street with who we believe to be the shooters in this incident, both deceased."
According to the FBI, the two suspects were teenagers.