FOX News88%
Active shooter threat at San Diego Islamic Center neutralized, police say 1%
By Greg Wehner0%
5/19/2026, 12:44:59 AM
Topics: United States
BS Summary: This article contains 19 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Post Hoc (False Cause), and Indoctrination, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 21.7% saturation with 392 hits. Analysis detected 1,615 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,809 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 4.8% and a BS Rank of 1% (16,702 of 16,813 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 99.30% of the article peer group.
San Diego police say an active shooter threat at the Islamic Center of San Diego was neutralized after SWAT teams, emergency crews and officers flooded the Clairemont area Monday afternoon.
San Diego police were investigating a runaway juvenile report involving one of the suspected shooters roughly two hours before the deadly attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, Police Chief Scott Wahl said Monday evening.
Wahl said the investigation began around 9:42 a.m. after the suspect’s mother contacted authorities and reported her son missing.
According to Wahl, the situation escalated as the mother “began to piece together bits and pieces of information” and relayed them to investigators throughout the morning, including that some weapons and a vehicle were missing.
“With this information, she believed her son was suicidal,” Wahl said during an evening news conference.
Police later connected the runaway investigation to the shooting at the Islamic Center, which unfolded shortly before noon.
San Diego police used license plate reader technology in an effort to track the two teenage suspects allegedly involved in the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego before the attack unfolded, Police Chief Scott Wahl said Monday evening.
Wahl said investigators began using the technology after receiving a runaway juvenile report earlier Monday involving one of the suspects.
“Our threat management unit began to take the tips and leads that we had and utilized the technology we had available to us,” Wahl said during an evening news conference.
“Our license plate readers were at the top of that list.”
According to Wahl, investigators received alerts placing the vehicle connected to the suspects in the Fashion Valley area, prompting officers to respond to the mall and surrounding area as they worked to locate the pair.
Police were still attempting to determine the suspects’ whereabouts when the active shooter call came in from the Islamic Center shortly before noon, Wahl said.
The two teenage suspects allegedly involved in the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego were dressed in camouflage clothing and had taken multiple weapons before the attack, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said Monday evening.
Wahl said investigators learned the information earlier Monday while responding to a runaway juvenile report involving one of the suspects.
According to Wahl, the suspect’s mother told investigators her son was with a companion and that the pair were dressed in camouflage clothing.
Wahl said investigators became increasingly concerned after learning multiple weapons were missing.
“One person that’s suicidal is not going to take three weapons from a location,” Wahl said during an evening news conference.
“Those little bits of information were significant.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, saying he was “deeply disturbed” by the attack.
Jeffries said his prayers were with the victims, their families and the surrounding San Diego community following the shooting at the mosque.
“Deeply disturbed by the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego,” Jeffries wrote on X.
“My prayers are with the victims, their families and the Clairemont community.”
The New York Democrat also called for action against anti-Muslim hatred, writing, “We must crush Islamophobia and the hatred that is fueling it.”
Pennsylvania Gov.
Josh Shapiro condemned the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, calling the attack a “senseless act of violence” against Muslims gathered to worship.
“I am horrified by the attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego — another senseless act of violence against our Muslim neighbors who were simply gathered to practice their faith,” Shapiro wrote on X.
The Democratic governor said violence targeting houses of worship “has no place in this country” and urged Americans to stand against hate and intimidation directed at religious communities.
“All of us have a responsibility to unequivocally condemn this type of horror and take steps in our own communities to show that we are stronger than hate,” he wrote.
Shapiro added that he and Pennsylvania First Lady Lori Shapiro were praying for the victims, their families and the broader Muslim communities in both San Diego and Pennsylvania.
California Gov.
Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom on Monday condemned the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, calling the attack “horrifying” and voicing support for the local Muslim community.
“Jennifer and I are horrified by today's violent attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, where families and children gather, and neighbors worship in peace and fellowship,” the couple said in a joint statement.
“Today, this community space was shattered by gunfire.”
“California sends our deepest condolences to the families and communities impacted by today’s shooting,” the statement continued.
The governor and first partner also thanked first responders and said places of worship should not be targets of violence.
“Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives,” they said.
“Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith.”
“Thank you to the brave law enforcement officers and first responders who acted swiftly to protect the children and worshippers,” the statement added.
“To the San Diego Muslim community: California stands with you.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) responded Monday to the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego as details about the attack continued to emerge.
“We have learned from @CAIRSanDiego that at least one person was killed by a shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego today,” CAIR National wrote on X.
“May Allah grant him the highest rank of Paradise and protect everyone from harm.
“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” the statement continued.
“We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”
Imam Taha Hassane, the longtime director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, said in a Facebook video Monday that all students, teachers and staff members connected to the mosque and school campus were safely evacuated following the deadly shooting.
“We are safe.
The entire school is safe.
All the kids, all the staff and the teachers are safe out of the Islamic Center,” Hassane said in the video message addressed to the San Diego community.
Hassane said there were “a few casualties,” though he noted details had not yet been confirmed at the time of the recording.
“There is no threat at this moment,” he said, while urging people to stay away from the Islamic Center for the remainder of the day.
The Islamic Center of San Diego later closed for the rest of Monday following the shooting, which authorities said left two teenage suspects and three adult victims dead.
Fox News correspondent Jonathan Hunt reported Monday that children attending a school located on the grounds of the Islamic Center of San Diego were evacuated as police responded to the deadly shooting.
Hunt said the mosque — described as the largest in San Diego County — also houses Bright Horizon Academy, which serves pre-K through third grade students.
Video from the scene showed young children being escorted away from the campus in single file by armed police officers as authorities secured the area.
Retired FBI supervisory agent James Gagliano cautioned that investigators were still working to determine a motive behind the shooting, saying possibilities could range from terrorism or a hate crime to a domestic dispute or other personal conflict.
Authorities later confirmed that two teenage suspects and three adult victims were killed in the shooting, including a security guard at the Islamic Center.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said Monday that the two suspects involved in the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego were teenagers, ages 17 and 19, and both are dead.
Wahl told reporters investigators believe the suspects died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds and said no officers fired their weapons during the incident, though the investigation remains ongoing.
Authorities said three adult victims were killed at the Islamic Center.
Wahl identified one of the victims as a security guard at the mosque, saying the guard “played a pivotal role” in preventing the attack from becoming even worse.
Officials did not publicly identify the other victims or provide additional details about them during the briefing.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said Monday that both suspects involved in the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego are dead and that all children connected to nearby schools are safe.
Wahl said police received the initial call reporting an active shooter at 11:43 a.m.
Officers arrived within four minutes and immediately encountered what appeared to be three deceased victims outside the mosque.
As officers established a SWAT response for a nearby school campus, authorities also received reports of gunfire a couple blocks away, prompting additional officers to respond simultaneously to a second scene.
Wahl said a landscaper working nearby was shot at during the chaos but was not hit.
Moments later, officers located a vehicle a few blocks away with a person believed to be one of the shooters, deceased in the street.
The police chief said more details about the circumstances surrounding the shooting will be released in the coming days but praised the law enforcement response.
“In 28 years, this is the most dynamic and impressive response I have ever seen in policing,” Wahl said.
“Police officers stopped what they were doing and responded.
I could not be more proud and could not express the gratitude, willingness to step into harm’s way in a moment like this.”
San Diego Police responded Monday afternoon to reports of an active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego, prompting a large law enforcement response and evacuations near the mosque.
The San Diego Police Department said officers were on scene at the Islamic Center in the 7000 block of Eckstrom Avenue and urged the public to avoid the area as authorities worked to secure the scene.
“I am aware of the active shooter situation at the Islamic Center of San Diego and am continuing to receive updates from law enforcement,” Mayor Todd Gloria wrote on X.
“Emergency personnel are on scene and actively working to protect the community and secure the area.”
A large police and SWAT presence gathered outside the mosque, according to FOX 5 San Diego, while San Diego Fire-Rescue crews also responded to the scene.
Children from nearby schools were seen being evacuated as officers established a perimeter around the area, the outlet reported.
The Islamic Center of San Diego describes itself as the largest mosque in San Diego County.
The mosque also shares an address with the Lower Campus of Bright Horizon Academy, a private Muslim school serving pre-K through 12th grade students.
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