3 killed in shooting at a San Diego mosque and 2 suspects are dead, police say

Two teenage gunmen opened fire on Monday at the Islamic Centre ‌of San Diego in California, killing three men outside the mosque, one of them a security guard, before the two suspects were found dead, apparently from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.

Both suspects are believed to be teenagers and the case is considered to be a hate crime, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference.

All of the children who were attending a day school that is part of the mosque complex – the largest in San Diego ⁠county – were accounted for and safe after the shooting, which erupted just before 12pm ‌local time, according to Wahl.

Wahl said the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) was called in to help in the investigation of ‌the incident.

Scores of police officers called to the incident encountered the bodies of three men shot dead outside ‌the building, including the security guard who Wahl credited with probably having helped prevent further bloodshed.

Soon after, ‌police discovered ‌the bodies of two teenage males, aged 17 and 19, in a car ‌in the middle of a street, dead from apparently self-inflicted gunshot wounds, Wahl said ⁠at an afternoon news conference.

He said investigators were still piecing together details of what caused the shooting and how the violence transpired.