What we know so far
• Three people, including a security guard, were killed in a shooting today at the Islamic Center of San Diego, authorities said.
• Two teen suspects were found dead in a car near the mosque, Mark Remily, the special agent in charge of FBI San Diego, said at a news conference. They “appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
• Authorities consider the shooting at the center, the largest mosque in San Diego County, a hate crime, Wahl said.
What we know about the shooting that killed 3 people at San Diego's largest mosque
Three people were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the city’s largest mosque, Police Chief Scott Wahl said today.
Wahl and other officials just gave an update on where the investigation stands. Here’s what we learned and what else we know so far:
- When they arrived at the mosque, police officers found three people dead, Wahl said, all adult men. One victim was a security guard who “played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse,” he said.
- Law enforcement arrived at the scene four minutes after the first calls, the police chief said. Up to 100 police officers searched the building, often having to break down doors, Wahl said.
- At the same time they were responding to reports of a shooting at the mosque, law enforcement also received calls about another shooting a few blocks away, Wahl said. A landscaper on scene was shot at, but was not hit, Wahl said.
- Moments later, police officers found two men who they believe to be the suspects dead inside a vehicle at a third location, according to Wahl. Both people were teenagers, 17 and 19 years old, Wahl said.
- The suspects “appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds,” Wahl said.
- Police are considering the shooting at the Islamic Center a hate crime “until it’s not,” the police chief said.
- Local law enforcement are working closely with the FBI, which has “special agents, task force officers, our evidence response personnel, victim specialists” and others on scene to help, said Mark Remily, of the FBI San Diego field office.
- What happened leading up to the shooting is still under investigation, Wahl said. At this point, the police chief said it appears that no officers fired their weapons.
- The Islamic Center did have security cameras, which will be among the evidence investigators will comb through, Wahl said.
- President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have both been briefed on the shooting. The president called the incident “a terrible situation” at an event at the White House.
CNN’s Elizabeth Wolfe, Aditi Sangal, Kristen Holmes, Zoe Sottile and Donald Judd contributed reporting to this post.
Trump says he's received early updates on San Diego shooting
President Donald Trump told reporters that he’s been “given some early updates” on the San Diego shooting and that his administration will continue to monitor the situation.
“They’re giving a briefing on it, at the mosque … and it’s a terrible situation,” Trump said during a healthcare event at the White House. “I’ve been given some early updates, but we’re going to be going back and looking at it very strongly.”
Earlier Monday, a White House official told CNN’s Kristen Holmes that Trump had been briefed on the shooting.
Law enforcement was also called to a second location during response, police chief says
Law enforcement received calls from a second location as they were responding to the active shooter situation at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the city’s largest mosque, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news briefing today.
“We began to receive calls from just a couple blocks away that we had more active gunfire. Officers were also responding to that call for service at the same time,” Wahl explained.
A landscaper on scene was shot at but not hit, Wahl said.
Moments later, officers were called to another location “where they found a vehicle in the middle of the street with who we believe to be the shooters in this incident — both deceased,” Wahl added.
Police officers arrived four minutes after 911 call, police chief says
Police officers arrived at the Islamic Center of San Diego four minutes after receiving a 911 call about an active shooter, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference.
The first 911 call about the shooter came in around 11:43 a.m. local time, he said.
What happened leading up to shooting still under investigation, police say
What led to the deadly shooting at the largest mosque in San Diego is something investigators don’t have the answer to yet, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl.
Three people were killed in the shooting, Wahl said, including a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego. But it’s not clear what happened heading up to the gunfire, he said.
“We are actively investigating the things that led up to this. Obviously these things don’t typically just happen on a whim, and the information that we knew preceding it is what we’re actively looking into,” Wahl said.
Wahl said investigators are considering this a hate crime “until it’s not.” Two people, who police believe to be suspects, were found dead in a car nearby, the chief said.
3 people killed in mosque shooting, police chief says
Three people are dead after a shooting incident at the Islamic Center of San Diego, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl.
When police arrived at the mosque, they found the three people who were dead, he said.
Two suspects were also found dead a few blocks away, Wahl said.
"Outrageous to target a place of worship," Islamic Center of San Diego Imam says
Imam Taha Hassane, director of the Islamic Center of San Diego where the shooting occurred, called it “outrageous to target a place of worship.”
“I know it’s time of sorrow, time of sadness. We have never experienced a tragedy like this before. And at this moment, all what I can say is sending our prayers and standing in solidarity with all the families in our community here,” Hassane said.
He added that other mosques and all the places of worship “should always be protected.”
“It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship,” Hassane said.
People come to the Islamic center to pray, celebrate and learn, Hassane said.
He thanked law enforcement and government leaders for showing up and “standing in solidarity with us.”
Investigators will piece together a "tremendous" amount of evidence, chief says
Local and federal investigators still face a slew of unanswered questions about what led up to the attack, but their probe will be aided by a copious evidence, the city police chief told reporters.
Video footage from the Islamic Center’s security cameras will be among the evidence, he said.
The FBI, which has arrived at the scene, has pledged all necessary resources to aid the investigation.
Up to 100 police officers searched the mosque after shooting reports, chief says
Up to 100 law enforcement officers rushed inside the Islamic Center of San Diego when they got the call that there was potentially an active shooter at the place of worship, said Scott Wahl, the chief of the San Diego Police Department.
After they arrived, they saw three people dead outside, he said at a news conference. This “forced them to engage in an active shooter response” and go inside the building, Wahl said.
“They did have to breach doors to get into all of the different rooms,” Wahl said. “There was somewhere between 50 to 100 police officers inside of that facility.”
Security guard killed in mosque shooting was "pivotal" in preventing more harm
A security guard at the Islamic Center who was killed in the attack played a vital role in decreasing the severity of the attack, San Diego’s police chief said.
“One of the deceased is a security guard that works there and I think played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse,” Chief Scott Wahl said in a news conference.
Three adult men were killed in the shooting, police have confirmed.
Suspects "appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds," police chief says
Suspects in the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego “appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds,” said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl at a news briefing today.
The suspects were two males, he said.
“There were no officers involved in firing their weapons. But that is still very preliminary at this point. But that’s what we believe,” Wahl added.
They were 17 and 19 years old, he had earlier noted.
Two suspects found dead were teenagers, FBI says
The two suspects found dead in a car near the mosque were teenagers, Mark Remily, the special agent in charge of FBI San Diego, said Monday.
Remily didn’t identify the suspects. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said they were 17 and 19 years old.
Trump briefed on San Diego shooting
President Donald Trump has been briefed on Monday’s shooting at the Islamic Center in San Diego, a White House official told CNN.
"We are considering this a hate crime until it's not," police chief says
Police are considering Monday’s shooting at the Islamic Center a hate crime for now, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl.
“Because of the Islamic Center location, we are considering this a hate crime until it’s not,” Wahl said.
The police chief said his department will work closely with the FBI “to make sure that we are matching all the resources that we need for this investigation.”
Two shooters found dead in a car near the mosque, police chief says
Police officers found two men who they believe to be the shooters dead inside a vehicle, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
The car was in the middle of Hatton Street, which is close to the mosque, he said.
“The circumstances that led up to this, and the details of what happened, and exactly which time it happened, will come out in the days ahead,” he added.
FBI director pledges "all resources" to mosque shooting investigation
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the agency is on site at the Islamic Center in San Diego, just hours after a shooting at the building.
Shooting comes amid record high complaints of anti-Muslim bias and discrimination, CAIR says
Monday’s shooting at San Diego’s largest mosque comes amid rising complaints of bias and discrimination against Muslims, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement.
The nonprofit, which advocates for Muslim civil rights, received 8,683 complaints across the US in 2025, they said in a report.
That’s the highest number of complaints in one year since CAIR’s first civil rights report covering 1996, according to the report.
Police haven’t said anything about the possible motive in Monday’s attack.
Two men found dead near mosque believed to be suspects, law enforcement officials say
Based on a preliminary investigation, police believe that two men found near the mosque — dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds — were the suspects, multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation tell CNN.
The men were found dead in a car, according to the officials.
Authorities are still trying to determine the details surrounding the shooting, the officials said. Police said that the threat is “neutralized” after the shooting.
Security guard at mosque killed, two law enforcement officials say
A security guard at the mosque was killed in Monday’s shooting, two law enforcement officials briefed on the situation told CNN.
A witness described to CNN seeing the guard shot and then falling before standing up.
Kids and teachers of the Islamic Center of San Diego are safe, official says
All kids, teachers and staff are safe, said Imam Taha Hassane, director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, in a video released on social media.
Hassane asked everyone to “stay away” from the center.
“We want everyone to stay away from the Islamic Center of San Diego. We are closed for the rest of the day. Stay safe, stay at home, and make a lot of prayers,” he added.
