Teen gunmen kill three at San Diego mosque, then die in nearby vehicle

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Authorities say two teenage assailants shot and killed three men at a mosque in San Diego on Monday, then ended their own lives a short distance from the scene.

Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters that one of the dead was a security officer at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Investigators are handling the matter as a hate crime.

The centre describes itself online as the biggest mosque in San Diego County.

A mosque official called the attack on a house of worship "Extremely outrageous to target a place of worship."

Imam Taha Hassane told a news briefing that "all the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected."

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

In a written release, Nizam said CAIR is "working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers."

Chief Wahl credited the slain guard with having "played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse."

While units rushed to the mosque, Wahl said, dispatch also logged shots fired a few streets over. A landscaper came under fire there but was not hurt.

Officers later found both suspects dead inside a car that had stopped in the roadway close by.