Five people are dead — three victims and two teenage suspects — following a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
The victims were three adult males, including the security guard for the mosque, said San Diego police Chief Scott Wahl during a press conference.
“Until we know more I don’t want to speculate, but I think it’s fair to say that his actions were heroic, and undoubtedly he saved lives today,” Wahl said of the security guard.
The suspects were 17- and 18-year-old teenagers, Wahl said, and were found deceased of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a car in the middle of the street a few blocks away. The teens are also suspected of firing at a landscaper after fleeing the mosque.
“There was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved,” Wahl said, emphasizing that law enforcement was still investigating writings associated with the suspects.
“We are considering this a hate crime until it’s not,” said Mark Remily, the special agent in charge of San Diego’s FBI office, said of the ongoing investigation.
Wahl reported early in the day that students and education staff on site at the part of center that houses Bright Horizon Academy were all safe and accounted for.
“I’ll tell you what got me,” Wahl said. “Seeing the kids come running out, just thankful to be alive.”
The massive search and response began at 9:42 a.m., when a mother called SDPD to report her son as a runaway. She described her son as suicidal, and said that several of her weapons and her vehicle were missing, along with her son.
Her son was also with a companion and they were dressed in camouflage, she told police.
“That began to trigger a larger assessment picture,” Wahl said during his second press conference of the day late Monday afternoon.
SDPD relied on license-plate readers to try to locate the car, which led them to dispatch vehicles to the Fashion Valley mall as a potential target. The department also sent officers to Madison High School. San Diego Unified spokesperson James Canning confirmed the suspect was a student at iHigh Virtual Academy, but had previously been a member of Madison’s wrestling team, because that is his neighborhood school. He had not been involved in any on-campus activities this school year.
While they were trying to zero in on a target, at 11:43 a.m. they received a call that there was an active shooter at the Islamic Center.
As soon as they arrived on the scene, officers encountered the three deceased victims. The officers then entered the center looking for the suspects.
While officers were responding at the center, police received a call of gunshots just blocks away on Salerno Street. The suspects shot at a landscaper working outside, and Wahl said police are now investigating the possibility that a shot hit a helmet he was wearing, saving his life.
Officers then received a call from a community member reporting that the two suspects were in a car in the middle of the street with gunshot wounds.
In response to a question about media reports that “anti-Islamic writings were discovered inside the vehicle,” Wahl reiterated that law enforcement is investigating the incident as a hate crime.
“There are details and information that we are investigating, as to exactly what the hate speech or the hate words that were conveyed,” he said. “Some of that is going to have to take more time to develop further, to see where that information is coming from.”
The note left by one of the suspects led his mother to begin considering that there was a large and general threat involved. “What that note said, I’m not going to disclose right now,” Wahl said.
He said the department is serving search warrants Monday and would continue to do so Tuesday, but wouldn’t disclose more about them.
SDPD has communicated with the victims’ families, but will not identify them publicly yet. The Islamic Center, however, identified the guard as Amin Abdullah.
“There was no specific threat to the Islamic Center, it was general hate kind of speech that I think covered a wide gamut,” Wahl said. “I don’t want to go into any of the specifics at this point. We are still actively investigating this as we speak, but it was more generalized.”
The public disclosure of the event began at 12:03 p.m., when officials announced on X that “SDPD is on scene at the Islamic Center of San Diego in the 7000 block of Eckstrom Ave for a reported active shooter.”
The department followed with a 12:44 p.m. update, calling the scene on Eckstrom Avenue “still active but contained,” adding that SDPD has “significant resources on scene at this time.”
SDPD is on scene at the Islamic Center of San Diego in the 7000 block of Eckstrom Ave for a reported active shooter.
— San Diego Police Department (@SanDiegoPD) May 18, 2026
Please avoid the area. Updates to follow. #SDPDPIO
Mayor Todd Gloria, on X at about the same time, said he was, “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.”
He along with police, urged residents to “avoid the area and follow instructions from public safety officials.”
Police also set up a reunification location at 4125 Hathaway St. for loved ones looking to find victims or those who were nearby.
Tazheen Nizam, executive director of CAIR-San Diego, called the shooting “a horrifying act of violence.”
“Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this attack” Nizam said in the Council on American Islamic Relations’ statement. “No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said that he had been briefed on what officials called “an evolving situation” in San Diego, adding that “the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (@Cal_OES) is coordinating with local law enforcement.”
Later, Newsom offered his condolenes and told the San Diego Muslim community that “California stands with you.”
“Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives,” he said in his statement. “Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith.”
The Islamic Center hosts five prayers a day at the Mosque, the next of which would have been at 1:15 p.m. The prior prayer had taken place around dawn.
The center is home to the lower campus of Bright Horizon Academy, formerly known as the Islamic School of San Diego, which serves Pre-K through 12th grade. The lower campus houses Pre-K to third grade students.
The incident coincides with Dhu al-Hijjah, which began Monday and is considered one of the holiest times of the year in the Islamic faith, when the Hajj pilgrimage takes place.
Islamic centers and mosques in the region have frequently been targeted with death threats and attacks. In March 2019, a Rancho Peñasquitos man, John Earnest set a fire at the Dar-ul-Arqam mosque in Escondido.
>>@CAGovernor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on an evolving situation in Clairemont community of San Diego, near the Islamic Center.
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) May 18, 2026
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (@Cal_OES) is coordinating with local law enforcement.
We are grateful to the first responders on the…
No one was injured in that attack, but the next month he shot and killed a woman and injured three other people in an attack on a Poway synagogue.
A representative for San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava said the council meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon had been adjourned. He did not cite the shooting, instead pointing to “unforeseen circumstances.”
Updated 5:55 p.m. May 18, 2026.
This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.
Tessa Balc, Brooke Binkowski and Alejandro Maciel contributed to this report.
