Teenage gunmen have shot dead three men at the Islamic Center of San Diego before killing themselves. The incident is being treated as a hate crime by investigators.
Police said the shooting at the mosque was preceded by a call by the mother of one of the shooters to police in the morning saying that the boy had run away with her weapons and vehicle and that she feared he was suicidal.
As police were searching for the boy, additionally alarmed by information that he was dressed in camouflage and had a companion, reports arrived of a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city center.
When police arrived, more shots were fired a few blocks away.
The shooters were then found dead with apparently self-inflicted gunwounds in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl.
Wahl said no officers fired their weapons at the scene.
"His actions were heroic and he undoubtedly saved lives today," Wahl said.
The identities of the other two victims were not immediately clear.
The Islamic center also houses a school, but its director, Imam Taha Hassane, said none of the students was harmed.
"We have never experienced tragedy like this before," Hassane said.
"And at this moment all that I can say is, sending our prayers and standing in solidarity with all the families in our community here," he said.
Hassane said the center promoted interfaith relations and that a group of non-Muslims had been visiting it earlier on Monday to learn more about Islam.
"Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives," he wrote on X.
"Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith," he said, adding, "To the San Diego Muslim community: California stands with you." Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
