Shooting at San Diego's largest mosque: Three dead, two teen shooters commit suicide

On May 18, 2026, a shooting occurred in San Diego, California, near the Islamic Center of San Diego, the city's largest mosque in the Claremont neighborhood, according to CNN.

According to police, at approximately 11:43 a.m. local time, two unidentified men opened fire at the entrance to the mosque. Three people were killed. One was mosque security guard Amin Abdullah, a father of eight. The second was a teacher at the mosque's school, Mohamed Nader. The third man has not been officially named in public sources; it is only known that he is also an employee of the center.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl stated at a press conference: "We received the first call at 11:43 a.m. Police arrived on scene within four minutes. We found three dead bodies outside the building. The mosque security guard played a key role—he prevented the attackers from entering, where people were present at the time, including children from the mosque's school."

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Shortly after the shooting, the bodies of two suspects, aged 17 and 19, were found in a car a few blocks from the mosque. Both had committed suicide.

Scott Wahl added: "The suspects shot themselves. No police officers opened fire. One of the teenagers took a gun from his parents' home before the attack and left a racist suicide note. Hate speech was also found on the gun."

Police and the FBI are classifying the incident as a hate crime.

Imam Taha Hassan of the mosque stated, "This is horrific. We have never before seen such a tragedy in our center. This is a time of grief. We pray for the families of the victims and express our support to our entire community. An attack on a place of worship is completely unacceptable."

Ammar Campa-Najjar, a U.S. congressional candidate who attended the mosque's school as a child, said, "When I saw the news, my stomach just sank. It was too close."

California Governor Gavin Newsom said he and his wife were "appalled by today's brutal attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, a place where families and children gather and where people pray in a peaceful and welcoming atmosphere."

"No one should fear for their life while worshipping, no matter where it occurs," his statement read. "Hate has no place in California, and we will not tolerate acts of terror or intimidation directed at religious communities."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim to hold the post in the city's history, also said he was "shocked" by the incident.

"Islamophobia is endangering Muslim communities across the country," he wrote in X. "It must be addressed directly and the politics of fear and division must be confronted together."

A security guard sacrificed his life for the sake of children.

Police note that dozens of people, including children, were inside the mosque at the time of the attack, but thanks to the actions of the security guard and the quick arrival of the police, no one was injured.

Mosque security guard Amin Abdullah, one of the three killed in the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, was a father of eight. He cared deeply about his community and sacrificed his life to protect those inside the mosque, said his friend Sam Hamid.

"He wasn't just a security guard," Hamide told CNN. "Every time you met him, he was always smiling, he was always positive, he had a strong faith in God, and he was always kind."

Inside the mosque is a school for children in grades kindergarten through third grade, Hamide said. His middle child was in class at the time. Every day when Hamide or his wife dropped off their child, a security guard would run to the car. On the morning of the shooting, he told Hamide's wife, "Say hi to Sam." "I didn't know it was his farewell. It's just heartbreaking," Hamide said.

After calling his child's teacher, the security guard became the second person Hamideh called upon learning of the shooting. "I know he understood he was sacrificing his life for the children," Hamideh said of his friend of four years. "If he hadn't taken that bullet, they would have easily made it up the stairs."

"To understand that there is such a person who is ready to give his life to protect other people's children, so that they can hug their own... and he himself returns home only to be buried by his own children - it is very painful."

What is known about the shooters?

According to the latest police information, one of the attackers was 17-year-old Kane Clark. On the morning of May 18, approximately two hours before the shooting, his mother called police to report her son missing. Her car and three guns were also missing. The woman described her son as suicidal and assumed he was with a friend.

Kane Clark's grandparents, David and Deborah Clark, briefly commented on the incident outside their home. They said, "We're trying to process this... We're very sorry about what happened."

The second attacker was 18-year-old Caleb Vasquez. There is currently virtually no information about his family. It is only known that he knew Clark and participated in the attack with him.

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Police are not yet releasing further details about the suspects' families, citing the ongoing investigation. Clark's parents, other than calling their mother to the police, have made no public statements.

Following the incident, police in several major US cities stepped up security at mosques and other religious sites.

The investigation continues.

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