Breaking: Mass Shooting Shocks San Diego Islamic Center, 3 Dead

A mass shooting rocked a mosque complex in San Diego County, California, United States, on Monday (18 May 2026). The bloodshed left three people dead at the scene before two teenage gunmen, aged 19 and 17, were found dead by suicide in a car not far from the incident. Citing Le Monde, local police said emergency responders found victims outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, the sprawling site. Security personnel then swept the area and located the two shooters dead in their car. Video footage from a television helicopter showed snipers and armed police outside the building, with one unidentified person lying in a pool of blood. Dozens of police cruisers surrounded the Islamic Center, described on its website as the largest mosque in southern California’s San Diego County. After a brief lockdown, San Diego Police announced the threat had been neutralised. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl gave an official briefing: ‘We received a call about an active shooter at the Islamic Center. Within four minutes, officers arrived at the scene and immediately saw three people dead at the front.’ Officers then moved inside to prevent further attack on worshippers. ‘We immediately began deploying an active-shooter response into the mosque and the adjacent school,’ added Wahl. He said police had also received reports of another gunshot nearby; a worker was shot but not hit. Outside the centre, officers found a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road, with the shooters dead inside. Wahl said the pair apparently died by self-inflicted gunshot wounds and that no officers fired. Police confirmed that a security guard at the Islamic Center was among the three killed, while the identities of the other two victims remained unclear. Imam Taha Hassane said that staff, teachers, and children inside were safe and stressed the offense of targeting a place of worship. ‘We have never seen tragedy like this before. We can only send prayers and stand in solidarity with all families in our community,’ Hassane added. Hassane also described violence at a house of worship as deeply crossing the boundary of humanity. ‘It is utterly disgusting and utterly unacceptable to target a place of worship,’ he said. On the national level, President Donald Trump described the shooting as a very horrific situation, saying, ‘I have been given some early briefings, but we will come back and look at this very strongly.’ California Governor Gavin Newsom reportedly received a briefing; his office issued a statement thanking responders and urging people to follow local authority guidance. ‘We thank the emergency responders and urge everyone to follow the guidance of local authorities,’ the statement read.