By Daily Signal Staff, The Daily Signal | May 18, 2026
Two teenage gunmen opened fire on Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego in California, killing three men outside the mosque, one of them a security guard, before the two suspects were found dead, apparently from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.
All of the children who were attending a day school that is part of the mosque complex—the largest in San Diego County—were accounted for and safe after the shooting, which erupted shortly before 12 noon PDT, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl.
Wahl said the FBI was called in to assist in the investigation of the incident, which the police chief said authorities were treating as a hate crime.
Scores of law enforcement officers called to the Islamic Center encountered the bodies of three men shot dead outside the building, including a security guard who Wahl credited with likely having helped prevent further bloodshed.
A short time later, police discovered the bodies of two teenage males, aged 17 and 19, in a vehicle in the middle of a street, dead from apparently self-inflicted gunshot wounds, the chief said at an afternoon news conference.
He said investigators were still piecing together details of what precipitated the shooting and how the violence transpired.
“This is every community’s worst nightmare,” Wahl stated at a Monday press conference following the shooting.
The Islamic Center in Clairemont is the largest mosque in San Diego County and houses the Bright Horizon Academy, a school providing Islamic education, according to its website.
FBI Director Kash Patel stated on X Monday that the bureau’s San Diego office “has responded to the scene of the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego this afternoon—all resources will be made available assisting local partners and we will update the public as we’re able.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
This story is developing and may be updated.
Daily Signal Staff wrote this piece.
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