Two teenage gunmen opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Sunday while its K-12 school was in session, killing three men before they were found dead in a nearby vehicle from what police described as self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The attack left five people dead in total and prompted investigators to pursue a possible hate crime case rooted in what authorities called anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Perhaps the most troubling detail: police were already hunting for the suspects hours before the first shot was fired.

A mother's warning came too late

Around 9:40 a.m. Sunday, a mother called San Diego police to report that her son was suicidal. She later told officers that weapons and her car were missing, the New York Post reported. The son was dressed in camouflage. Police spent roughly two hours searching for the pair, using automated license plate readers, checking a local mall, and alerting a school connected to one of the teens.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl acknowledged the timeline at a press conference.

"That triggered a larger threat assessment picture," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.

But the threat assessment did not outrun the attackers. Before officers could locate them, the two teens arrived at the Islamic Center of San Diego and opened fire.

Three killed, including an armed guard who fought back

Law enforcement sources identified the suspected shooters as 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Velasquez, Just The News reported. Chief Wahl confirmed that five people died: three adults at the mosque and the two suspected gunmen. The suspects allegedly died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds after being found in a vehicle a few blocks from the Islamic Center.

Among the three men killed was an armed security guard who confronted the attackers. Chief Wahl did not mince words about the guard's role.

"It's fair to say his actions were heroic. Undoubtedly he saved lives today."

That guard's decision to engage the shooters likely bought critical time. Children attending the K-12 school on the mosque campus were safely evacuated and none were injured, Newsmax reported. The fact that a school full of children sat yards from the gunfire makes the guard's intervention all the more consequential. In a country where armed individuals have stopped active shooters in other recent cases, the guard's actions fit a pattern that gun control advocates rarely acknowledge.

San Diego police confirmed the threat had been neutralized. "The threat at the Islamic center has been neutralized," the department said, as reported by the Union-Tribune.

Investigators pursue hate crime angle

Authorities are treating the attack as a possible hate crime. AP News reported that investigators found evidence the suspects had engaged in generalized hate rhetoric, though the precise nature and extent of that evidence has not been publicly detailed. Chief Wahl addressed the rhetoric directly.

"At this point, there was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved."

Investigators will need to determine whether the Islamic Center was a preselected target, how the suspects obtained their weapons, and whether any other individuals had knowledge of the planned attack. Authorities have not publicly confirmed a specific motive beyond the general reference to hate rhetoric.

The mosque's leadership reacted with grief and alarm. Ahmed Shabaik, chairman of the Islamic Center, told reporters: "Unfortunately, there are some casualties." Imam Taha Hassane called the attack on a house of worship unconscionable.

"Extremely outrageous to target a place of worship."

The imam also urged the public to stay clear of the area. "There is no threat at this moment, but we want everyone to stay away from the Islamic Center of San Diego," he said.

Two hours of searching, then shots fired

The timeline raises hard questions for San Diego police. Officers had a suicidal teen, missing weapons, a stolen vehicle, and camouflage clothing on their radar well before the shooting began. They ran license plate readers, visited a mall, and contacted a school. None of it was enough.

This is not a question of negligence on its face. Threat assessments involve judgment calls, incomplete information, and a city full of possible destinations. But the gap between the mother's call and the attack will be scrutinized in the weeks ahead. Policy failures that precede violent incidents have drawn intense public attention in recent years, and this case will be no exception.

Authorities have not said whether the mother identified the Islamic Center or any specific target during her call. They have not disclosed whether the two teens communicated their plans to anyone else or posted threats online. Those are gaps investigators will need to fill as the case moves forward.

A community targeted during school hours

The Islamic Center of San Diego operates both a mosque and a K-12 school. The attack struck during school hours, meaning dozens of children were on campus when gunfire erupted. That none of them were physically harmed is a measure of the security guard's courage and the speed of the evacuation, not a sign that the danger was contained.

Targeting a house of worship is a federal hate crime under certain circumstances, and the FBI's involvement will likely determine whether federal charges are pursued posthumously for investigative purposes or whether the case remains with local authorities. Breitbart first reported that at least one suspect was down, and the full scope of the casualties became clear as police briefed reporters Sunday evening.

The shooting adds San Diego to a growing list of American communities forced to reckon with mass violence in public spaces. A recent mall shooting in Louisiana and a targeted ambush in Fresno underscore the breadth of the problem.

What comes next

With both suspected shooters dead, the criminal case has no living defendants. But the investigation is far from over. Detectives will need to trace the weapons, examine digital communications, and determine whether anyone else facilitated or had advance knowledge of the attack. The hate crime designation, if formally applied, would carry significant weight for federal reporting and community impact assessments.

Chief Wahl's acknowledgment of hate rhetoric sets the investigative frame. Whether that rhetoric was confined to private conversations, posted publicly, or shared within a broader network will shape the case's trajectory and its political fallout.

An armed security guard gave his life to protect children and worshippers. That fact deserves to sit at the center of this story, not at its margins.