Five people were killed — including two teenage gunmen — after a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the largest mosque in San Diego County, on Monday, May 18, 2026, with police declaring the threat "neutralized" by early afternoon.
Two teenage suspects, identified by NBC News as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, opened fire outside the mosque located at 7050 Eckstrom Avenue in the Clairemont neighborhood, roughly nine miles north of downtown San Diego.
Police received the first report of an active shooter at approximately 11:43 a.m. local time, and officers arrived on scene within four minutes to find three adult male victims dead outside the building.
Among the three victims was a security guard identified by community members as Amin Abdullah, who San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl credited with playing a "pivotal role" in preventing the attack from being "much worse," according to Times of Now News
The other two victims were identified as staff members of the Al-Rashid School, an Islamic K-12 institution operating within the mosque complex that offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies, and the Quran.
Officers later responded to a report of a vehicle stopped in the middle of a nearby street, where they discovered Clark and Vazquez deceased inside a car, both with apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. No law enforcement officers discharged their weapons during the incident.
Investigators said that prior to the attack, the mother of one of the suspects had contacted police at around 9:42 a.m. to report that her son had taken multiple firearms and her vehicle, leaving with a friend while both were dressed in camouflage.
A note left behind by one of the suspects contained "generalized hate rhetoric and hate speech," though it did not include explicit threats targeting the mosque or any specific location. Law enforcement officials also told CNN that hate-related messages were written on one of the weapons used in the attack, the BBC reported.
San Diego Police Chief Wahl said the case is being investigated as a hate crime "until it's not," with the FBI's San Diego field office assisting local authorities. FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily said agents are prepared to use every available resource to uncover the facts of the incident.
All children and teachers at the Al-Rashid School were safely evacuated during the attack, with aerial footage showing dozens of students holding hands as they were walked out of the complex.
California Governor Gavin Newsom called the attack an act of hate and said the state stands with the San Diego Muslim community, while President Trump told reporters at the White House that he had been briefed and described it as a "terrible situation," as per The Business Journal.
