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Shooting at Islamic Center in San Diego: Investigation into Hate Crime

Tuesday, May 19, 2026
5 min read
Shooting at Islamic Center in San Diego: Investigation into Hate Crime

Three men were killed. That’s what happened outside the Islamic Center in San Diego on Monday. Two teenage gunmen opened fire. Authorities are saying it was a shooting.

The suspects were later found dead. Police think they shot themselves. Self-inflicted wounds. It’s a deeply disturbing picture.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl gave some details. He said the shooting happened just before noon. At the Islamic Center in the Clairemont area. It’s the biggest mosque in San Diego County, right near the US-Mexico border. A really sensitive spot.

Among those killed was a security guard. He was there. Officials suggested he might have stopped more people from getting hurt. A guard, gone.

The police found the other two suspects later. They were inside a vehicle on a street nearby. Both were male. They were seventeen and nineteen years old. Investigators are leaning toward suicide. Gunshot wounds.

The FBI jumped in on this. They’re looking into it. They’re treating it as a possible hate crime . But nobody has publicly figured out the motive yet. It’s just… unclear.

Taha Hassane, the imam and director of the center, spoke out. He said this was something new. He said they’ve never seen a tragedy like this before. He added that targeting a place of worship is just outrageous.

Law enforcement moved fast. Dozens of officers responded right away. They were there in minutes after the reports came in. Television footage showed police swarming the place. Heavily armed officers, tactical teams setting up around the complex.

No shots were fired by the officers during that response. That part seems straightforward.

Investigators are digging deeper. They’re looking into something else too. There was a separate shooting a few blocks away around the same time. Involving a landscaper. That person wasn't hurt. But is it connected? Is it all linked? Nobody knows for sure.

The details about how this all started. The real motive. It’s still just fuzzy.

This attack came right before Eid al-Adha. And before the Hajj pilgrimage. Big religious moments for Muslims everywhere. It throws a shadow over those times.

The Islamic Center also runs a school. Bright Horizon Academy. It teaches Islamic education. So this isn’t just a place of worship. It’s a community hub.

This whole situation is starting to make people nervous. Especially in the US. Fears about religiously motivated violence are growing. Muslim and Jewish institutions are speaking up. They’re worried.

They’re watching the chaos happening in places like West Asia. The conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the US. It feeds into these worries.

Earlier this year, there was another attack. A man killed after attacking a Jewish temple in Michigan. That incident already raised alarms about threats against places of worship. This San Diego shooting is just another piece of that puzzle.

It’s one of the latest things law enforcement is scrutinizing. Looking for extremist angles. Hate motives. Everything feels connected now. It’s messy. It’s just a lot of fear bubbling up.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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