5 dead, including 2 shooters after cops swarm San Diego mosque, schools evacuated
By Brad Appleton, Barclay Crawford and Joe Burn
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A total of five people including two gunmen have been killed after an active shooter situation at a San Diego mosque drew a massive police presence, police sources told The Post Monday.
One of the victims was a mosque security guard who “played a pivotal role in assisting, this could have been worse,” said a San Diego police officer at the press conference.
The suspects, believed to be aged 17 and 19, died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said during a press conference.
One member of the mosque was also killed in the attack, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. It’s unclear if this member was the same person as the security guard.
Helicopter footage showed one person in a tactical vest who appears to have been shot dead outside the Islamic Center of San Diego. A photo from the scene shows a dead body under a yellow tarp.
“The threat at the Islamic center has been neutralized,” San Diego Police Department wrote on X at 1:06 p.m.
Between 50 and 100 cops swarmed the building as a landscaper came under-fire from the shooters, police said Monday.
“We are safe, the entire school is safe. All the kids, all the staff, and the teachers are safe and out of the Islamic Center,” center Imam Taha Hassane said in a video sent obtained by the California Post and circulated among California’s Muslim community.
A body seen covered with a tarp at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026. What appears to be ammunition, possibly a shotgun shell, is seen near the body.AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Members of the Muslim community use their phones at the scene of a reported active shooter situation at the Islamic Center, with yellow tape placed behind them to cordon the area, in San Diego, on May 18, 2026.REUTERS
A body is covered with a tarp at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, May 18, 2026.AP Photo/Gregory Bull
People stand behind police tape at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego.AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Scores of emergency vehicles were seen lined up outside the center only minutes after the call came in for an active shooter.
An elementary school next to the Islamic Center was also evacuated by police as were adults still inside the center.
Cops were seen frantically searching the neighborhood, going door to door to find a shooter, per KGTV San Diego. Two people, who have not been identified, were seen being resuscitated by first responders near the seen of the shooting, a video posted to Reddit shows.
A still from a video shows a person receiving CPR near the San Diego mosque shooting site.Reddit/@The_Clmt_kid420
Police officers leading a line of children away from the Islamic Center during an active shooter event.KGTV
An aerial view of police responding to a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, with a body on the ground.NBC
An aerial view of the heavily armed police presence at the Islamic Center of San Diego.KGTV/ABC 10 News
An armed man seen from above at the Islamic Center of San Diego.ABC 10 News
There are three schools within close proximity to the mosque, the Islamic School of San Diego, the Clairemont Canyons Academy, and the Kavod Charter School. A Seventh Day Adventist church and California Children Services are also nearby. The center’s campus includes the Al Rashid School.
“School children attending school were inside during the attack. CAIR-San Diego and local community leader have confirmed that at least one member of the mosque was killed,” CAIR said in a press release.
Law enforcement agencies from across the country, including the NYPD and Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia, said they are increasing patrols of mosques out of an abundance of caution.
Emergency workers respond at the scene of a reported active shooter situation at the Islamic Center in San Diego, California, U.S., May 18, 2026.REUTERS
Emergency workers respond at the scene of a reported active shooter situation at the Islamic Center in San Diego, California, U.S., May 18, 2026.REUTERS
“SDPD is on scene at the Islamic Center of San Diego in the 7000 block of Eckstrom Ave for a reported active shooter,” the San Diego Police Department posted.
“Please avoid the area. Updates to follow,” the post added. “The scene at 7050 Eckstrom Ave is still active but contained. We have significant resources on scene at this time. We have established a reunification location at 4125 Hathaway Street, SD, CA 92111.”
https://nypost.com/2026/05/18/us-news/cops-rush-to-active-shooter-at-islamic-center-of-san-diego/
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