Police were searching for teens behind San Diego mosque shooting before the bloodshed began

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SAN DIEGO — Before the first shot rang out at a San Diego mosque in a deadly shooting that would leave three men dead, police were already scrambling to find two teenagers who would ultimately be responsible.

The search began after a mother of one of the teenagers reported her son was suicidal and had run away, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl, who said weapons were missing from the home and her vehicle was gone.

Two hours later, the shooting began at the Islamic Center of San Diego, just blocks away from the home.

The suspects, ages 17 and 18, were found in a vehicle after killing themselves a few blocks from the site of the shooting.

Authorities planned to execute search warrants related to the investigation Tuesday as they piece together how and why the shooting unfolded. There was no specific threat made against the Islamic centre, but authorities found evidence that the suspects engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric,” Wahl said, noting that the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.

The centre, which said it was closed until further notice, is the largest mosque in San Diego and typically holds five daily prayers.

“These were men who put themselves on the line for our masjid and our community,” the centre wrote in a Facebook post, using the Arabic word for mosque. “Men of courage, sacrifice, and faith. Their absence leaves a void that can never truly be filled.”

On Monday morning, the search for the missing teen intensified as law enforcement began to gather more details. Police learned he had dressed in camouflage and was with an acquaintance. Officers used automated license plate readers to track the car and went to a mall in the area. They also alerted a school where at least one of the teens had been a student and continued interviewing the mother, Wahl said.

When reports of the shooting came in, police responded within four minutes of being called. Three men were dead when they arrived, Wahl said.

Among those killed was a security guard, who police believe “played a pivotal role” in keeping the attack from being “much worse,” Wahl said.

“It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” the chief said at a news conference. “Undoubtedly he saved lives today.”

A family friend identified the guard as Amin Abdullah, a well-known face at the mosque who had worked there for more than a decade.

“He wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard,” said Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who spoke with Abdullah’s son.

The family could not immediately be reached for comment.

The centre called him “a courageous man who put himself on the line of the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community.”

The mosque is in a neighborhood of homes, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets. The centre includes the Al Rashid School, which offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran for students ages 5 and up, according to its website.

Aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the centre’s parking lot as it was surrounded by scores of police vehicles.

Imam Taha Hassane, the mosque’s director, called it “extremely outrageous to target a place of worship,” adding that the centre focused on interfaith relations and community building.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S., condemned the shooting.

“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” CAIR-San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam said in a statement.

President Donald Trump called the shooting a “terrible situation.”

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Julie Watson and Eugene Johnson, The Associated Press

Johnson reported from Seattle. Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.