‘This is every community’s worst nightmare,’ San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
Three adults were killed in a May 18 shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, while the two suspects believed responsible for the shooting are also dead, local police announced.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl announced the casualties at an afternoon press conference on May 18, providing updates on the shooting.
“This is every community’s worst nightmare,” Wahl said. He assured locals that “there is no further threat.”
“Both suspects in this case are deceased,” Wahl said. “All of the kids are safe.”
Earlier, local residents had received a warning to stay away from the center in the 7000 block of Eckstrom Avenue in the city’s Clairemont neighborhood. Police had described the situation as “still active but contained,” with “significant resources” at the scene. Videos posted to social media by bystanders showed police escorting children away from the Islamic Center.
About an hour later, police reported that the threat had been “neutralized.”
Regarding those who were still being informed of what had happened as the press conference was taking place, Wahl said, “Our hearts go out to the families.”
Wahl told reporters that police first received reports of an active shooter at the location at about 11:43 a.m. local time.
Within four minutes, Wahl said, the first officers arrived on the scene. “[They] observed immediately … what appeared to be [three] deceased victims out in front,” he said.
This prompted an immediate active shooter response to the mosque and adjacent school.
Wahl reported that officers were simultaneously responding to an incident a few blocks away. A landscaper had reported that while working on May 18, he had been shot at but wasn’t hit.
Shortly afterward, officers also responded to a call about a vehicle in the middle of the street in the area of the shooting, in which they discovered two teenagers believed to be the shooters in the Islamic Center incident; both were deceased.
Wahl said that additional information, including the circumstances that led up to the incident, the details of what had happened, and exactly which time it happened would come out “in the days ahead.”
This story will be updated with additional information.
By Janice Hisle and Joseph Lord
