At least five people are dead, including two suspected shooters, after a Monday shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego that authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime.

The three victims killed in the attack were Amin Abdullah, a mosque security guard; Mansour Kaziha, a long-time staff member of the mosque; and Nader Awad, who lived across the street and was a member of the mosque’s community, according to authorities. A landscaper working nearby was shot at but was not injured.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said in a news briefing Monday afternoon that the two suspected shooters, believed to be 17- and 18-year-old males, were found in a car and “appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.” Two law enforcement officials identified the 17-year-old suspect as Cain Clark to NBC. Citing law enforcement officials, news outlets have variously identified the 18-year-old as Caleb Vazquez or Caleb Velasquez. Police have not publicly confirmed the identities of either suspect.

The Islamic Center of San Diego, the largest mosque in San Diego County, also houses the Al Rashid Weekend School, which provides Arabic language and Islamic studies instruction. An imam from the mosque said that all teachers, students, and school staff members present at the time of the shooting were safely evacuated. 

The motive for the shooting remains under investigation. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Mark Remily noted at a news conference on Tuesday, however, that law enforcement recovered a "manifesto" that included “a wide aspect of races and religions" and is being analyzed by the FBI.

“They didn’t discriminate on who they hated,” Remily added.

Remily said that it was too early to determine whether the mosque was the suspects’ specific target.

“What I can say is they definitely had a broad hatred towards a lot of folks,” he said.

The Islamic Center of San Diego issued a statement on Monday describing the shooting as “an extremely painful and traumatic day” for its congregation, students, staff, and the wider San Diego community.  The mosque will reopen on Wednesday for fajr prayers, according to an announcement posted on the center’s website on Tuesday. 

Imam Taha Hassane, director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, called the attack “outrageous.”

“It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship,” he said, adding that the mosque is a place where people come “to pray, celebrate and learn.”

“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement. The group condemned what it called a “horrifying act of violence.”

The organization also noted that the attack comes amid rising anti-Muslim bias nationwide, citing a record 8,683 complaints of discrimination and Islamophobia reported in 2025. 

In response to the attack, the Los Angeles Police Department announced on Monday that it was stepping up patrols around mosques, Islamic centers, and other places of worship across the city, located roughly two hours north of San Diego. Officials said there was currently no known threat to the Los Angeles area.

In a separate statement, Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass said she was “outraged and heartbroken” by the violence.

She noted that the attack occurred on the first day of Dhul Hijjah, one of the holiest periods in Islam, and emphasized that places of worship should remain safe spaces free from hatred and violence.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Sibel Newsom said in a statement following the shooting that they were “horrified” by the attack.

“Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives,” they said. “Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith.” 

To the San Diego Muslim community, they added: “California stands with you.”

At a White House press conference on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance called the attacks “reprehensible.” He encouraged “every single American to pray for everybody who was involved and affected by it.”

What we know about the shooting and the investigation

San Diego police reported that they were responding to reports of an active shooter at the mosque in the Clairemont neighborhood, roughly eight miles north of downtown San Diego, around noon local time on Monday. 

Officers arrived within four minutes of a 911 call to find three victims dead outside the Islamic Center, Wahl said on Monday, prompting what he described as an active shooter response. Officers found the victims within minutes of being dispatched to the mosque at 11:43 a.m. At roughly the same time, the chief said, authorities started receiving reports of gunfire a few blocks away. Between 50 and 100 law enforcement officers entered the facility, breaching doors and searching room by room to secure the building.

Police said around 1 p.m. local time that the threat had been “neutralized.”

Wahl said police received a call earlier in the morning about a “runaway juvenile” from the mother of one of the suspects. She said she believed her son had taken her vehicle and several weapons from her home, and left with a companion. They were both dressed in camouflaged clothing, she said.

Law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told CNN that one of the suspects in the shooting took a firearm from their parents' home and left behind a suicide note containing references to racial pride. Officials also said that hate-related messages were written on one of the weapons used in the attack, though the exact wording has yet to be disclosed.” Law enforcement officials told the New York Times that investigators also recovered Islamophobic writing in the car the suspects were in.

Remily said at Tuesday’s press conference that authorities recovered over 30 guns after executing search warrants at locations associated with the suspects.

Wahl said the previous day that authorities were treating the shooting as a hate crime “until it’s not.” 

“We are actively investigating the things that led up to this. Obviously these things don’t typically just happen on a whim, and the information that we knew preceding it is what we’re actively looking into,” Wahl said.

He said authorities were reviewing security camera footage from the Islamic Center and piecing together what he described as a “tremendous amount” of evidence.

What we know about the victims

Wahl praised Abdullah, the security guard, for his “heroic” response to the attack. 

“His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred these two individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque, where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet of these suspects,” the police chief said during the Tuesday news conference. Wahl said that Abdullah exchanged gun fire with the suspects. 

Speaking the previous day, the police chief noted that “I think [he] played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse” and “undoubtedly he saved lives today.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $2 million has been contributed to a fundraiser for the families of the three victims organized by the mosque and the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). 

The organizations described Abdullah as a father of eight. “Teachers, staff, and more than a dozen children walked safely out of that building that afternoon because of what Amin did,” they wrote.

The fundraiser organizers described Awad as “a community member and neighbor of the center” saying he “lived just across the street.” 

“When he heard the gunfire, he ran toward it,” they said, “toward his wife and the community that was his entire life.”

Kaziha managed the mosque store and was a husband, father, and grandfather, several Muslim groups, including the mosque and CAIR San Diego, said in a statement. The fundraiser organizers described him as “one of the people who kept the community fed, welcomed, and at home in their own house of worship.”

Wahl said Kaziha and Awad also attempted to deter the suspected shooters away from the mosque, but were ultimately unable to escape themselves. 

It added that “places of worship are meant to be spaces of peace, prayer, reflection, and community.” The statement also thanked first responders for their response and said information about counseling and additional support will be shared in the coming days.

—Miranda Jeyaretnam contributed reporting.