3 Killed in San Diego Islamic Center Shooting; 2 Suspects Found Dead

SAN DIEGO—Three people were fatally shot at an Islamic center in the Clairemont neighborhood Monday morning, and two suspected shooters were found dead in a vehicle nearby, San Diego police said.

Police said they got a report of an active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Eckstrom Avenue around 11:40 a.m. Officers found three dead men at the center. Their names have not been released.

Shortly after 1:05 p.m., the department reported: “The threat at the Islamic center has been neutralized.”

Police said they established a reunification location at 4125 Hathaway St.

Video shot from a helicopter and aired on NBC San Diego around 12:20 p.m. showed a group of young children being led away from the site by adults and law enforcement officers. A large number of law enforcement officers from various agencies converged in the area.

The Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County.

The center is home to the Al Rashid School, which offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran. It holds five daily prayers and a variety of educational talks and seminars at the site. On its website, the center says it works with other mosques in the region to sponsor and hold events for the local Muslim community.

The center’s imam, Taha Hassane, said in a video posted to social media that the school’s students, staff and teachers were safe but advised the public to stay away from the scene. “We are safe, the entire school is safe,” Hassane said. “We have a few casualties, not confirmed yet. There is no threat at this moment.”

The national Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement condemning the “deadly attack at a San Diego mosque.” CAIR, which is the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said people were shot, and said it said that “at least one member of the mosque was killed.”

“We strongly condemn this horrifying act of violence at the Islamic Center of San Diego,” the group said. “Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this attack.

“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said on social media that the governor “has been briefed on an evolving situation in Clairemont community of San Diego, near the Islamic Center.”

It also said the state’s Office of Emergency Services was coordinating with local law enforcement.

Shortly before 12:15 p.m., Mayor Todd Gloria posted on X that he was aware of the “active shooter situation” and was receiving updates from law enforcement. “Emergency personnel are on scene and actively working to protect the community and secure the area,” Gloria wrote on X.

Following the shooting, dozens of parents stood behind police tape, waiting on word about their children. Once an officer informed them of the meetup point, many began running toward their cars to pick them up.

Police cars filled Eckstrom Avenue and Balboa Avenue, and freeway off-ramps from northbound and southbound Interstate 805 have been closed by California Highway Patrol officers. Lindbergh Park, which sits opposite the campus, is cordoned off with police tape.

Tazheen Nizam, executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the organization is “trying to support any affected community members.”

She said that while the incident did not happen during prayer time, the center is still a busy site.

“The Islamic Center is a place of prayer, but also a place of learning,” she said. “There are kids there in the school right now.”

She said her team is “trying to assess the situation.”

“We are trying to make sure that the folks that are being evacuated have support,” Nizam said. “And we are working with law enforcement and elected officials about how we move forward assessing all of it.”

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