Teenage gunmen open fire on San Diego mosque, killing 3 men and then themselves

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two teenage shooters opened fire at a San Diego mosque on Monday and killed three men — then killed themselves a few blocks away — in an attack police are investigating as a hate crime.

There was no specific threat made against the Islamic Center of San Diego but authorities found evidence that the suspects engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said. He declined to give more details, but said the “circumstances that led up to this” would come out in the days ahead.

Before the attack, officers were already looking for one of the teenagers since his mother called police concerned that her son was suicidal and had run away, Wahl said. There were weapons missing from the home and the mother's vehicle was gone, he added.

The search took on even more urgency as police learned that he was dressed in camouflage and with an acquaintance — details that were unexpected for someone about to die by suicide, he said.

Police began using whatever technology they could to find the 17- and 18-year-old, including automated license plate readers. The department dispatched authorities to a mall near where the car had been tracked by police, and officers alerted a school where at least one of the suspects had been a student, Wahl said.

As officers continued interviewing the mother about places the teens might be, they got reports of a shooting at the mosque.

Among those killed was a mosque security guard, who police believe “played a pivotal role” in keeping the attack from being “much worse,” Wahl said.

“It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” the chief said at a later news conference. “Undoubtedly he saved lives today."

A family friend identified the guard as Amin Abdullah, a well-known face at the mosque who had been working there for more than a decade.

“He wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard,” said Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who had spoken with Abdullah's son. The family could not immediately be reached for comment.

The center is the largest mosque in San Diego County and includes the Al Rashid School, which offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran for students ages 5 and up, according to its website.

Police responded within four minutes of being called, Wahl said. As they arrived, gunshots rang out a few blocks away where a landscaper was shot at but uninjured. The shooters were found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby, he said.

Aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the parking lot of the center as it was surrounded by scores of police vehicles. The mosque is in a neighborhood of homes, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets.

Parents were directed to a nearby area to retrieve their children.

The mosque's director, Imam Taha Hassane, called it “extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.”

“All the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected,” he said.

He added that the center focused on interfaith relations and community building, and that a group of non-Muslims had been touring the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.

The Islamic Center’s website says its mission is to not only serve the Muslim population but also to “work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation.” Five daily prayers are held there, and the mosque works with other organizations and people of all faiths on social causes.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S., condemned the shooting.

“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” said CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam in a statement. “We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”

President Donald Trump called the shooting a “terrible situation.”

Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.

People embrace near the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A crowd gathers near the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A body is covered with a tarp at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Two men embrace at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

People carry weapons at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A sheriff's deputy stages at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A body is covered with a tarp at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Police stage at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

People stand behind police tape at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Police stage at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Voters in Kosovo headed to the polls Sunday for an early parliamentary election, the third in 18 months, in an attempt to unlock a political impasse in the small Balkan nation that is striving to join the European Union and NATO.

Sunday's ballot was scheduled after the main political parties failed to agree by a March deadline on who should replace former President Vjosa Osmani. The first inconclusive election in February 2025 left the country without a functioning government for much of last year, forcing a second election in December.

The prolonged crisis has negatively affected Kosovo’s economy, already hit hard by the global energy crisis and rising fuel prices. One of the youngest and poorest countries in Europe declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO bombing that forced Serbia to withdraw.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s center-left Vetevendosje party has held a clear parliamentary majority since the early election in December. But Kosovo’s president is elected by at least 80 lawmakers in the 120-member assembly, requiring a broader political consensus.

Kurti is being challenged by the two main opposition parties, the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo, which have accused him of seeking to impose full control over all political institutions in the country.

Former president Osmani is running on the opposition LDK list in the election, having turned against Kurti after he refused to back her for a second term in office.

While the key players blamed each other for the crisis, their inability to reach a compromise has fueled disappointment among Kosovo’s around 2 million voters, who want the government to focus on the economy and living standards instead.

Analysts still don't expect major changes in the election outcome compared to the previous vote in December.

The institutional vacuum, without a stable government, has delayed access to the EU and other international funds available to the country. European Council President Antonio Costa, during a visit last week, urged Kosovo to end the political stalemate and unite over the goal of EU integration.

Kosovo has been recognized by the United States and most EU countries, but not by Serbia and its allies, Russia and China. Pristina and Belgrade have been told they must mend relations to move forward with their EU membership bids.

People wait at a bus station displaying election posters in capital Pristina, Kosovo, Friday, June 5, 2026, ahead of snap parliamentary elections on June 7. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Vjosa Osmani, Kosovo former president, waves to supporter at the closing political rally of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), in capital Pristina on Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

People pass by a giant election poster of acting prime minister Albin Kurti, in capital Pristina, Kosovo, Friday, June 5, 2026, ahead of snap parliamentary elections on June 7. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)