3 dead, including hero security guard, after two teen gunmen open fire at San Diego mosque before killing selves

A total of five people including two teenaged gunmen are dead after an active shooter situation at a San Diego mosque drew a massive police presence, police sources told The Post Monday.

One of the victims was a mosque security guard who “played a pivotal role in assisting, this could have been worse,” said a San Diego police officer at the press conference.

The suspects, believed to be aged 17 and 19, died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said during a press conference. They fled in a white BMW and were found dead inside the vehicle, where anti-Islamic writings were found, according to police sources.

Hate speech was scrawled on one of the weapons that was used in the shooting, law enforcement sources told The Post. One of the shooters took a firearm from their parents’ home and left behind a suicide note with language referencing racial pride.

Two other adults were killed at the mosque by the gunmen, police said. No children were physically injured and the FBI is assisting in the investigation.

A dead body lies on the street outside of the car where two teenage suspects fled along Hatton Street in the Clairemont neignborhood of San Diego on Monday, May 18, 2026. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

A woman cries at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

A body seen covered with a tarp at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026. What appears to be ammunition, possibly a shotgun shell, is seen near the body. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Members of the Muslim community use their phones at the scene of a reported active shooter situation at the Islamic Center, with yellow tape placed behind them to cordon the area, in San Diego, on May 18, 2026. REUTERS

Police stage outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026. Denis Poroy for CA Post

Parents wait for for their children to be released from a pre-school next to the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026. Denis Poroy for CA Post

Helicopter footage showed one person in a tactical vest who appears to have been shot dead outside the Islamic Center of San Diego. A photo from the scene shows a dead body under a yellow tarp.

Between 50 and 100 cops swarmed the building as a landscaper working nearby came under-fire from the shooters but escaped without being shot, police said Monday.

“We are safe, the entire school is safe. All the kids, all the staff, and the teachers are safe and out of the Islamic Center,” center Imam Taha Hassane said in a video sent obtained by the California Post and circulated among California’s Muslim community.

Timeline of the San Diego shooting:

11:43 a.m. — SDPD receives reports of an active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego on the 7000 block of Eckstrom Ave. in Clairemont.

11:47 a.m. — Officers arrive to find three adults dead outside the center, including security guard Amin Abdullah. They immediately enter the building and adjacent school to hunt for the shooter.

11:52 a.m. — Two blocks away on the 7100 block of Salerno St., new calls come in: a landscaper has been shot at. He survived.

Minutes later — Officers are called to the 3800 block of Hatton St., where they find a white BMW stopped in the street with what appear to be the suspects inside, a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old — both dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

1:06 p.m. — “The threat at the Islamic center has been neutralized,” SDPD wrote on X at 1:06 p.m.

People stand behind police tape at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

A body is covered with a tarp at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, May 18, 2026. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

A woman sobs and watches from a distance at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Women embrace at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

People walk under police tape at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Scores of emergency vehicles were seen lined up outside the center only minutes after the call came in for an active shooter.

An elementary school next to the Islamic Center was also evacuated by police as were adults still inside the center.

Cops were seen frantically searching the neighborhood, going door to door to find a shooter, per KGTV San Diego. Two people, who have not been identified, were seen being resuscitated by first responders near the seen of the shooting, a video posted to Reddit shows.

A still from a video shows a person receiving CPR near the San Diego mosque shooting site. Reddit/@The_Clmt_kid420

A still from a video shows a person receiving CPR near the San Diego mosque shooting site. Reddit/@The_Clmt_kid420

Police officers leading a line of children away from the Islamic Center during an active shooter event. KGTV

An aerial view of police responding to a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, with a body on the ground. NBC

An aerial view of the heavily armed police presence at the Islamic Center of San Diego. KGTV/ABC 10 News

An armed man seen from above at the Islamic Center of San Diego. ABC 10 News

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“I am aware of the active shooter situation at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont and am continuing to receive updates from law enforcement. Emergency personnel are on scene and actively working to protect the community and secure the area,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria posted to X.

There are three schools within close proximity to the mosque, the Islamic School of San Diego, the Clairemont Canyons Academy, and the Kavod Charter School. A Seventh Day Adventist church and California Children Services are also nearby. The center’s campus includes the Al Rashid School.

“School children attending school were inside during the attack. CAIR-San Diego and local community leader have confirmed that at least one member of the mosque was killed,” CAIR said in a press release.

Law enforcement agencies from across the country, including the NYPD and Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia, said they are increasing patrols of mosques out of an abundance of caution.

Emergency workers respond at the scene of a reported active shooter situation at the Islamic Center in San Diego, California, U.S., May 18, 2026. REUTERS

Parents wait for for their children to be released from a pre-school next to the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026. Denis Poroy for CA Post

“SDPD is on scene at the Islamic Center of San Diego in the 7000 block of Eckstrom Ave for a reported active shooter,” the San Diego Police Department posted.

“Please avoid the area. Updates to follow,” the post added. “The scene at 7050 Eckstrom Ave is still active but contained. We have significant resources on scene at this time. We have established a reunification location at 4125 Hathaway Street, SD, CA 92111.”

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