By Sherif Lawal
Police in California are investigating a deadly shooting at an Islamic centre in San Diego as a hate crime after three men were killed by two teenage gunmen.
Tearful families gathered at a reunification centre as yellow police tape sealed off the Islamic Center of San Diego where the victims were discovered outside the complex.
Police said emergency teams arrived within four minutes and later found the suspected shooters aged 17 and 18 dead in a car from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the incident is being treated as a hate crime and that “there was definitely hate rhetoric involved”.
Helicopter footage showed armed response units outside the building as officers also investigated reports of a nearby shooting involving a landscaper who was not hit.
Authorities later lifted a brief lockdown after advising residents to stay indoors saying the threat had been neutralised at the Islamic centre largest mosque in San Diego County.
