San Diego Shooting: Teenage gunmen open fire on a San Diego mosque, killing 3 men and then themselves

On May 18, 2026, law enforcement authorities responded to an active San Diego Shooting scenario at the Islamic Center of San Diego, a mosque in the Clairemont district in the State.

On May 18, 2026, law enforcement authorities responded to an active shooter scenario at the Islamic Center of San Diego, a mosque in the Clairemont district of San Diego.

Two adolescent gunmen opened fire at a San Diego mosque on Monday, killing three men before killing themselves a few streets away, in an act that police are investigating as a hate crime.

The Islamic Center of San Diego received no particular threat, but detectives discovered evidence that the suspects used “generalized hate rhetoric,” according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. He declined to provide further specifics, but stated that the “circumstances that led up to this” would be revealed in the coming days.

Before the incident, officers were hunting for one of the adolescents after his mother called police, afraid that he was suicidal and had fled, Wahl said. Weapons were stolen from the house, and the mother’s vehicle had vanished, he said.

The hunt became much more urgent once authorities discovered he was dressed in camouflage and was with an acquaintance, both of which were unusual for someone ready to commit suicide, he claimed.

Police began using any tool they could to locate the 17 and 18-year-olds, including computerized license plate readers. The department dispatched officers to a mall near where the car had been tracked by police, and cops alerted a school where at least one of the suspects had previously attended, according to Wahl.

As officers proceeded to interview the mother about where the teens may be, they received reports of a shooting at the mosque.

A mosque security guard was among those murdered, and authorities believe he “played a pivotal role” in preventing the attack from being “much worse,” according to Wahl.

“It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” the chief remarked at a subsequent press conference. “Undoubtedly he saved lives today.”

A family friend identified the guard as Amin Abdullah, a familiar face at the mosque who had been there for over a decade.

“He wanted to defend the innocent, so he decided to become a security guard,” said Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who spoke with Abdullah’s son. The family was not immediately available for comment.

According to its website, the facility is San Diego County’s largest mosque and houses the Al Rashid School, which teaches Arabic language, Islamic studies, and the Quran to children aged 5 and up.

Wahl stated that police responded within four minutes of receiving the call. As they arrived, bullets rang out a few blocks away, where a landscaper was shot but not hurt. The gunmen were discovered dead in a car stopped in the middle of a neighboring road, he stated.

Aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and walking out of the center’s parking area, which was encircled by a number of police vehicles. The mosque is located in a neighborhood of residences, apartments, and strip malls that include Middle Eastern eateries and markets.

The mosque’s director, Imam Taha Hassane, described it as “extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.”

“All the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected,” he stated.

He further stated that the center focuses on interfaith connections and community building, and that a delegation of non-Muslims had visited the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.

According to the Islamic Center’s website, its aim is not merely to serve Muslims, but also to “work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation.” Five daily prayers are held there, and the mosque collaborates with other groups and people of all faiths on social issues.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organizations in the United States, denounced the shooting.

“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” stated CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam in a statement.

“We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”

President Donald Trump described the massacre as a “terrible situation.”