Three people were shot and killed at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday by two teenagers who were subsequently discovered dead inside a nearby vehicle, according to The New York Times. The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.
The victims were identified as Amin Abdullah, a security guard; Mansour Kaziha, the mosque's store manager and caretaker; and Nader Awad, a worshiper who had come to help, according to The Times. Before he was killed, Abdullah triggered a lockdown alert that, combined with the sound of gunfire, enabled roughly 140 children present in the building to shelter in place, Police Chief Scott Wahl said, according to ABC News. Having moved through the mosque without encountering anyone, the suspects caught sight of Kaziha and Awad from a window, then exited through a nearby door and cornered the two men in the parking lot, where they were killed, according to ABC News.