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5 dead, including 2 suspects, in shooting at San Diego Islamic Center

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Credit: KFMB

Three adults have been killed in the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, and two teenage suspects were found dead nearby from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to police. Authorities are treating the attack as a possible hate crime.

The shooting was reported at about 11:43 a.m. on Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego in the 7000 block of Eckstrom Avenue in Clairemont, where officers arrived within four minutes and found three victims outside the mosque, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a briefing.

The victims were three adult males, according to Mark Remily, the special agent in charge of FBI San Diego. Imam Taha Hassane, director of the mosque, said earlier that those killed included a security guard and two staff members of the Islamic school on the center’s grounds.

Chief Wahl said the security guard “played a pivotal role” in preventing the attack from becoming worse. All of the children at the Islamic school are safe.

Local media reported earlier that victims were being treated at a nearby hospital, but officials did not confirm during the briefing whether anyone else had been injured.

Officers first entered the mosque and adjacent school under an active shooter response, moving room to room and breaching doors as they searched the facility. All of the children at the school are safe, Wahl said.

At about the same time, police began receiving reports of additional gunfire a few blocks away. The police chief said a landscaper was shot at in the 7100 block of Salerno Street but was not hit.

Moments later, officers were called to the 3800 block of Hatton Street, where they found a vehicle in the middle of the road with the two suspected shooters inside. Both were dead.

The suspects were described as males believed to be 17 and 19 years old. Wahl said they appeared to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, and no officers fired their weapons.

The Islamic Center of San Diego is the largest mosque in San Diego County. Because of the location of the shooting, Wahl said investigators are considering the attack a hate crime and are working closely with the FBI.

“The circumstances that led up to this and the details of what happened will come out in the days ahead,” Wahl said.

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