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Authorities in the United States say three people have been killed at a complex housing a mosque and an Islamic school in San Diego in a suspected hate-motivated attack.
San Diego Police chief Scott Wahl said the two shooters in the incident at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD) in southern California on Monday were also found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
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“Because of the Islamic centre location, we are considering this a hate crime until it’s not,” Wahl told reporters.
The suspects were two males, believed to be aged 17 and 19, according to the police chief.
Wahl said one of the victims was a security guard at the Islamic centre, who played a “pivotal role” in ensuring that the incident did not become far worse.
He added that authorities are investigating and working “figure out and piece together exactly what led to this moment”.
All three victims were adults. Children at the school were not physically harmed, according to authorities.
The San Diego Police Department had reported an active shooter incident at the ICSD before saying that the threat was “neutralised”.
Taha Hassane, the imam of the mosque, described the ICSD as a place for people — including non-Muslims — to come together and pray, learn and celebrate.
“It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship. Our Islamic Center is a place of worship,” Hassane said.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria stressed that “hate has no place” in the city.
“To our local Muslim community, our prayers are with you,” Gloria said. “I want to assure our Muslim community that we will do everything it takes to make sure that you can feel safe in this city, and no resource will be spared in making sure that our religious institutions and locations are protected in this sensitive time.”
The ICSD is located in a residential area in the Clairemont neighbourhood of San Diego, north of the city’s downtown.
The identities of the shooters remain unclear. But the incident comes amid heightened Islamophobia in the US, with many politicians and commentators regularly attacking the Muslim community.
For example, Congressman Randy Fine, an ally of President Donald Trump, said late last year that Muslims should “be destroyed”.
Later on Monday, Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist close to Trump, said the ICSD should be raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and immigration authorities.
She shared a 2023 social media post by the wife of the mosque’s imam accusing Israel of killing children.
“The mosque that was ‘supposedly’ shot up today,” Loomer wrote in an accompanying message. “Just remember the people who attend this mosque want us all to be killed.”
Trump said he was given a briefing about the situation and described it as “terrible”.
“I’ve been given some early updates, but we’re going to be going back and looking at it very strongly,” the US president said.
Dozens of officials across the US condemned the shooting on Monday.
“We don’t have any details about a potential motive yet, but I’m devastated for those students, worshippers, and the Clairemont community. Everyone should be able to pray, worship, and learn in peace,” US Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who represents San Diego, wrote on social media.
The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom explained that he is following the situation and coordinating with local law enforcement agencies.
“We are grateful to the first responders on the scene working to protect the community and urge everyone to follow guidance from local authorities,” the office said in a statement.
FBI Director Kash Patel also said the local division of the agency is responding to the incident, promising that “all resources will be made available assisting local partners”.
Police set up a reunification point for people in the area. The mosque posted on social media that children can be picked up from a nearby church.
After the shooting, the New York Police Department (NYPD) announced it was boosting protection for mosques in the city.
“While there is currently no known nexus to NYC or specific threats to NYC houses of worship, out of an abundance of caution, the NYPD is increasing deployments to mosques across the city,” the department said.
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