SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Three people were fatally shot at an Islamic center in Clairemont Monday morning, and two suspected shooters were found dead in a vehicle nearby, San Diego police said.
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Police said they got a report of an active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Eckstrom Avenue around 11:40 a.m., located in a residential neighborhood about 10 miles north of downtown San Diego.
Officers found three dead men in front of the center, one of whom was a security guard at the center. Their names have not been released. Shortly after 1:05 p.m., the department reported: “The threat at the Islamic center has been neutralized.”
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference that the two alleged shooters were found dead inside a vehicle a short distance away from the mosque. The suspects —ages 17 and 19 — apparently had killed themselves, Wahl said.
After leaving the mosque, Wahl said the two shooters apparently had fired at a landscaper working in the area. That man was not injured.
Officers responding to reports of that shooting found the vehicle with the two suspects inside.
The fatal shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, and the FBI is involved in the investigation.
Wahl said all the children who were at a school at the site were safe.
Video from a helicopter and aired on NBC San Diego around 12:20 p.m. showed a group of young children being led away from the site by adults and law enforcement officers. A large number of law enforcement officers from various agencies converged in the area.
The mosque is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its website.
The center is home to the Al Rashid School, which offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran. It holds five daily prayers and a variety of educational talks and seminars at the site. On its website, the center says it works with other mosques in the region to sponsor and hold events for the local Muslim community.
The national Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement condemning the “deadly attack at a San Diego mosque.” CAIR, which is the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said people were shot, and said it confirmed that “at least one member of the mosque was killed.”
“We strongly condemn this horrifying act of violence at the Islamic Center of San Diego,” the group said. “Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this attack.
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“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said on social media that the governor “has been briefed on an evolving situation in Clairemont community of San Diego, near the Islamic Center.”
It also said the state’s Office of Emergency Services was coordinating with local law enforcement.
Shortly before 12:15 p.m., Mayor Todd Gloria posted on X that he was aware of the “active shooter situation” and was receiving updates from law enforcement. “Emergency personnel are on scene and actively working to protect the community and secure the area,” Gloria wrote on X.
Following the shooting, dozens of parents stood behind police tape, waiting on word about their children. Once an officer informed them of the meetup point, many began running toward their cars to pick them up.
Tazheen Nizam, executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the organization is “trying to support any affected community members.”
She said that while the incident did not happen during prayer time, the center is still a busy site.
“The Islamic Center is a place of prayer, but also a place of learning,” she said. “There are kids there in the school right now.”
She said her team is “trying to assess the situation.”
“We are trying to make sure that the folks that are being evacuated have support,” Nizam said. “And we are working with law enforcement and elected officials about how we move forward assessing all of it.”
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