Three men, including a security guard, were killed after two teenage gunmen opened fire outside the Islamic Center of San Diego in California . The two suspects were later found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.

The shooting broke out shortly before noon outside the mosque complex, the largest Islamic centre in San Diego County, sparking panic among worshippers and students inside the premises and prompting a massive police response.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said all children attending the day school operating within the mosque complex were safely accounted for and unharmed after the attack, news agency Reuters reported. 

Scott Wahl said the two teenagers, ages 17 and 19, “appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds”.

Wahl said the FBI had been called in to assist with the investigation, which police are treating as a hate crime, though authorities have not yet identified a motive for the shooting.

According to CNN, citing Law enforcement officials, one of the suspects allegedly took a firearm from their parents’ home and left behind a suicide note containing writings referencing racial pride. Authorities also said that hate speech was discovered written on one of the weapons used in the attack.

The attack happened just week before the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha or Feast of ⁠the Sacrifice and the annual Hajj pilgrimage of Islamic faithful to the holy site of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

According to Reuters, Taha Hassane, the imam and director of the Islamic Center said that the community had never experienced a tragedy like this before, calling it extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.

Scores of law enforcement officers responding to the scene found the bodies of three men associated with the mosque shot dead outside the building, including a security guard whom officials said may have helped prevent further casualties.

 Shortly afterward, police discovered the bodies of two teenage males, aged 17 and 19, inside a vehicle in the middle of a street, dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, the chief said at an afternoon news conference.

The police chief said that investigators are still working to reconstruct the sequence of events and determine what led to the shooting and how the violence unfolded.

Although random gun violence has become increasingly common in public places across the United States, Muslim and Jewish communities have become especially concerned following US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28, and Iran’s subsequent retaliatory attacks on Israel and several Gulf states, which have escalated tensions into a broader regional conflict.