Overview
- Three men were shot dead outside the Islamic Center of San Diego and two teenage suspects later died of apparent self‑inflicted gunshot wounds in a nearby vehicle, according to police reports about the incident on Monday.
- A mosque security guard who engaged the attackers is credited with slowing them and triggering a lockdown that let staff evacuate about 140 children and other people on the campus to safety.
- Hours before the shooting, one suspect’s mother alerted police that her son was missing, that several weapons and her vehicle were gone, and that she had found a note, officials said.
- The FBI says the two teens met and were radicalized online, investigators recovered hateful writings and inscriptions linked to white‑supremacist ideology, and officers seized guns, ammunition and a crossbow during searches.
- Local and federal authorities continue evidence collection and motive review while community groups have named the victims and cities have raised security at houses of worship as investigators probe wider online links and next steps.