San Diego police said two teen gunmen and three other people were killed after an attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday morning. The threat was declared “neutralized” by 1 p.m., and police said the gunmen died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
By the time afternoon settled over San Diego, the scene at the Islamic Center of San Diego had shifted from chaos to the grim work that follows gunfire: counting the dead, tracing what happened, and trying to reunite frightened families.
San Diego Police said five people were killed. including two gunmen who entered the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday morning and opened fire.. Police swarmed the center after receiving reports of an active shooter and significant injuries.. By 1 p.m., officials said in a social media post that the threat had been “neutralized.”
At a news conference after the violence, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said a security guard who was killed “played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse.” Police also said the two gunmen died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds and were believed to be 17 and 19 years old.
The attack unfolded while a school that operates at the center and mosque was in session.. The lower-grade classrooms of the K-12 facility are on site at the center. while grades 4 through 12 operate at a separate campus.. It is the only accredited Islamic school in San Diego, according to the school’s website.
Ahmed Shabaik, chairman for the Islamic Center of San Diego, said no children were injured in the incident. Tazheen Nizam, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in San Diego, said children and teachers with the school were removed by police and taken to a nearby church.
Police cleared multiple people from the mosque, but officials said they were still trying to understand how the attack unfolded. “Right now we’re still trying to find out what happened,” said Colin Steinbroner, spokesperson for the San Diego Police Department.
In the hours after the shooting. law enforcement focused on keeping people away from the site and getting families to where they could be reached.. Officials said from 50 to 100 police officers were at the Islamic Center of San Diego site Monday afternoon.. Officers also established a reunification location at 4125 Hathaway St.
Earlier, officials initially urged people in the area to shelter in place near the mosque at 7050 Eckstrom Ave., as the response unfolded and the situation remained active.
What happened in those minutes is still being pieced together. but the facts already laid out by police are stark: two teen gunmen opened fire at a place that was operating a school. five people died in total. and by early afternoon the department said the threat had been contained—while investigators continued to sort out what drove the violence and what exact sequence led to the deaths.
San Diego Islamic Center of San Diego active shooter police Scott Wahl Council on American-Islamic Relations reunification
This is so sad. Why are people like this.
Neutralized by 1pm doesn’t mean neutralized for the families… like how do they even tell everything that fast? Also the article says self-inflicted gunshot wounds?? So they were just gonna shoot themselves instead of getting arrested? I’m confused.
Security guard played a “pivotal role” so basically they’re calling him a hero. I just hate that it takes one guard to stop an attack. And the gunmen were 17 and 19, that’s crazy, like teenagers with that much stuff.
I saw something on TikTok that it was a hate thing but then my cousin said it was some random dispute. Idk. It says only K-12 lower grades on site and 4-12 elsewhere, but if the school was in session how is it not still terrifying for everybody? I just hope no kids were hurt and that they actually protect that place better next time.