Two suspects kill three people at a San Diego mosque before killing themselves

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two teenage suspects killed three men in a shooting at a San Diego mosque Monday before killing themselves a few blocks away, authorities said. 

Police Chief Scott Wahl said a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego was among those killed and that the case is being investigated as a hate crime.

The Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its website.

The mosque director said it was "Extremely outrageous to target a place of worship."

Imam Taha Hassane also said at a news conference that "all the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected."

Tazheen Nizam of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in San Diego says that "no one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school."

Nizam says in a statement that CAIR is "working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers."

The security guard who was killed 'played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse', according to Chief Wahl.

Wahl says that as officers responded to the mosque, they also fielded reports of gunfire a few blocks away, where a landscaper was shot at but was uninjured.

He says the suspects were found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby.

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