Before deadly San Diego mosque shooting, mother called police with concerning warning
Two hours before the deadly attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the mother of one of the two teen suspects called authorities to report her son was missing and suicidal, and that several of her guns were missing, Police Chief Scott Wahl said Monday evening.
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FBI says teen mosque suspects met online before attack; mother warned son was suicidal
Federal investigators said Tuesday the two teenage suspects accused in the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego appeared to have been radicalized online before later meeting in person, as authorities revealed one suspect’s mother had warned police beforehand that her son was suicidal and armed.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily said investigators seized more than 30 firearms, ammunition, tactical gear and a crossbow from locations tied to the suspects.
“What we do believe is that they met online,” Remily said during a press conference. “Through the course of that online communication, they discovered that they were both residing in the San Diego area.”
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the investigation initially began as a runaway juvenile case after the younger suspect’s mother contacted authorities before the attack.
“It went from a runaway, suicidal individual to homicidal, potentially homicidal, two suspects,” Wahl said.
Police said the guns used in the attack belonged to a parent of one of the suspects, though investigators are still examining how the teens gained access to the weapons.
CAIR says mosque shooting has ‘shaken our community to its core’ as daughter honors slain father
Muslim leaders and civil rights advocates in San Diego on Tuesday mourned the three men killed in the Islamic Center shooting, while demanding action against what they described as rising anti-Muslim violence.
“What happened at the Islamic Center has shaken our community to its core,” said Tazheen Nizam, executive director of CAIR San Diego. “A sacred space where families gather, where children come to learn, and where community members seek comfort and connection is now a crime scene.”
Speakers repeatedly praised security guard Amin Abdullah, who authorities say helped stop the gunmen from reaching classrooms filled with children.
“Without these three heroes in the scene, sacrificing their lives, it would have been worse,” Imam Saad Eldegwi said.
Abdullah’s daughter, Hawa Abdullah, delivered an emotional tribute to her father, describing him as “the best dad in the world” who took protecting the mosque “so seriously.”
“He would want our community to stand together as one,” she said. “Regardless if you were Muslim, if you were Christian, if you were Jewish, if you had no faith, he didn’t care. He would treat you human to human.”
Several speakers also blamed what they called escalating anti-Muslim rhetoric for contributing to violence against Muslim communities.
“Hate speech leads to hate crimes,” Eldegwi said. “Hate speech leads to terrorism, extremism.”
Mosque lockdown drills helped save children during shooting, imam says
The Islamic Center of San Diego had conducted active shooter drills before Monday’s deadly attack, a preparation that mosque leaders say helped save dozens of children.
Imam Taha Hassane said security guard Ameen Abdullah quickly activated the lockdown system after spotting the gunmen.
“He just implemented what he knows about the system,” Hassane said Tuesday.
Police said about 140 children were inside the mosque and school during the shooting, and authorities credited Abdullah’s actions with preventing the suspects from reaching classrooms filled with students.
Police chief says mosque security guard’s actions likely saved 140 children
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said Tuesday that the security guard killed during Monday’s mosque shooting likely prevented the attackers from reaching classrooms where roughly 140 children were sheltering.
“The carnage would be much worse,” Imam Taha Hassane said during an emotional press conference, identifying the guard as Ameen Abdullah, whom he described as a beloved member of the community who “never stops smiling.”
Wahl said the guard immediately engaged the suspects in a gun battle and triggered the mosque’s lockdown protocol after spotting the threat.
“Without question, there would have been many more fatalities yesterday,” Wahl said.
Authorities also identified the two other victims as Mansoor Kasia, described by the imam as a founder and longtime caretaker of the Islamic Center of San Diego, and Nadir Awad, a neighbor whose wife teaches at the Islamic school and who rushed over after hearing gunfire.
The FBI said investigators recovered more than 30 firearms during searches tied to the suspects. Officials said the teenage suspects appeared to have been radicalized online and met through online communications before becoming acquaintances in person.
Imam says victims likely prevented shooters from reaching classrooms with over 100 students
The imam of the Islamic Center of San Diego said the three men killed in Monday’s mosque shooting likely prevented the attackers from reaching classrooms filled with children.
Imam Taha Hassane said more than 100 students were inside the mosque school during the attack.
One victim was described as “the father of the community” who helped build the mosque and regularly cooked meals and handled maintenance work.
Another was identified as the mosque’s longtime security guard, who community members said died protecting others.
The third victim was the husband of a teacher who lived across the street and rushed over to help during the shooting.
Authorities said the two suspected shooters, ages 17 and 18, were later found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds inside a nearby vehicle.
Fox News' Matt Finn contributed to this report.
Alleged mosque shooters identified as teens, aged 17 and 18
The alleged shooters who killed three men at the Islamic Center of San Diego have been identified as 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Velasquez, the New York Post reported, citing a law enforcement source.
Clark had been on the wrestling team at Madison High School, according to the school’s social media page. A San Diego Unified School District spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Clark had been attending school virtually through iHigh Virtual Academy since 2021.
“We’re very sorry for what happened,” Clark’s grandfather, 78-year-old David Clark, told the Post. “We know as much as you do. It’s a shock.”
Clark and Velazquez were found dead with apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds inside a vehicle a few blocks from the mosque.
There was no specific threat made against the Islamic center, but authorities found evidence that the suspects engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said during a press conference Monday, noting that the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former assistant FBI director weighs in on investigation into mosque shooting
A former assistant FBI director broke down what investigators may be looking into as they work to piece together a motive for the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
Former Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker highlighted during an appearance on “FOX & Friends” Tuesday morning how the mother of one of the teenaged shooting suspects called police about the “red flags” he had displayed, including taking several of her firearms and her car, and was wearing camouflage.
“The question in my mind is did she do it soon enough, and how was the teenager able to get his hands on those weapons,” Swecker said.
He added: “It does matter as to whether someone aided and abetted or conspired or enabled this attack.”
When asked about the 19 attacks on houses of worship in 2025, a 533% increase compared to three such attack in the year 2000, Swecker said the rise in violence and threats are “directly related to political hate speech.”
9-year-old boy recalls seeing ‘a bunch of bad stuff’ during mosque attack
A nine-year-old boy recounted the moment that a deadly shooting unfolded at the Islamic Center of San Diego, where he and other children attend school.
Odai Shanah told Reuters that he heard a barrage of gunshots from outside the building before he and his classmates were ushered into a closet. They shook in fear as more than a dozen shots rang out, he said.
When the shooting finally stopped, Shanah said he heard members of a SWAT team shout from outside the classroom, “OK, open up,” before they then opened the door.
"We saw a bunch of bad stuff, people laying down and yeah, bad stuff," Shanah said, telling the outlet they saw bodies lying on the ground as the children were escorted outside.
"My legs were shaking and my hands and my head were like hurting a lot. I felt like a rock," he said.
All the students at the Islamic day school, known as the Bright Horizon Academy, were accounted for and unharmed, authorities said.
‘Heroic’ security guard killed in mosque shooting remembered as ‘courageous’
A security guard killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego was remembered for his courage after authorities said his “pivotal” actions likely saved more lives during the bloodshed.
A family friend identified the heroic guard to The Associated Press as Amin Abdullah.
“He wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard,” said Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who spoke with Abdullah's son.
Police believe the security guard “played a pivotal role” in keeping the attack from being “much worse,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference Monday.
“It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” the chief said. “Undoubtedly he saved lives today.”
Abdullah had worked at the mosque for more than a decade, according to the friend.
The center remembered Abdullah as “a courageous man who put himself on the line of the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community.”
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
Mother warned police son was suicidal before deadly mosque shooting, chief says
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.
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