Five people, including two suspects, dead after shooting at San Diego mosque
Five people, including two teen suspects, have died after a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont.
Police were called to the scene at 11.43am local time on Monday where they found ‘what appeared to be three deceased victims out front’.
Two suspects, who are reported to be aged 17 and 19, were also found dead, with San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl saying that they ‘appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds’.
Speaking during a conference after the incident, Wahl confirmed there was no further threat.
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"Our hearts go out to the families that are in this moment being notified of what has happened to their loved ones," he said.
"The circumstances that led up to this and the details of what happened - and exactly which time it happened - will come out in days ahead," he said, according to the BBC.
Police have said the incident is being treated as a hate crime.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said during a briefing that no one in San Diego should ‘live in fear’ due to their beliefs.
"Hate has no home in San Diego, Islamophobia has no home in San Diego," he told reporters.
Gloria also praised police for their rapid response time when dealing with the incident.
“This is what we trained for. This is what we budget for. This is what we ask of our public safety professionals and they absolutely deliver in the way that we ask them to do so,” he said.
President Donald Trump called the shooting a ‘terrible situation’.
“They're giving a briefing on it. It's a terrible situation,” he said.
“I've been given some early updates, but we're going to be going back and looking at it very strongly."
And California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was ‘horrified’ by the incident.
“Worshippers anywhere should not have to fear for their lives. Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation against communities of faith,” he said in a statement.
Topics: US News
Claire Reid