Three shot dead at San Diego mosque in ‘hate crime’ before teen gunmen found dead

Emergency workers respond at the scene of a reported active shooter situation at the Islamic Centre (Picture: Reuters) Three men were killed when gunmen burst into a San Diego mosque Monday and opened fire. The gunmen, 17 and 19, were found dead in a car nearby, seemingly from self-inflicted gun wounds. At least one of the three victims at the Islamic Centre of San Diego, the largest mosque in San Diego County was a security guard. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the guard in the line of fire appeared to have helped stop the shooters from committing a deadlier mass shooting. ‘One of the deceased is a security guard that works there, and I think played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse,’ the chief said. An ATF agent stands at the scene of a reported active shooter situation at the Islamic Centre (Picture: REUTERS) Armed officers arriving at the mosque found the bodies of the three adult victims outside. Only later did it become clear that the suspects had left the scene, and were dead in a car nearby. The campus includes the Al Rashid School, which the website says offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran. An Islamic Centre of San Diego spokesman said a school class was happening at the time of the shooting on Monday but all the teachers and children ‘were safe’. A man uses a mobile phone as he stands with members of this community at the scene (Picture: Reuters) Aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the parking lot of the center that is surrounded by scores of police vehicles. The white mosque is in a neighborhood of homes, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source