Three victims were killed outside the San Diego Islamic Center and two teenage suspects were found dead blocks away from self-inflicted gunshot wounds as police now try to piece together what led to Monday’s mass shooting.

“We are safe. The entire school is safe. All the kids, all the staff and the teachers are safe,” Taha Hassane, the center’s director, said in a video recorded outside the building as police lights flashed.

The names of the suspects have not been released and police did not detail a motive. But investigators found possible anti-Islamic writings inside the suspects’ car, two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.

The names of the victims have not been released either, but one was a security guard at the center, who police said “played a pivotal role” in preventing more deaths.

At around 3 p.m. ET, San Diego police started to receive calls about shootings at the center, located in the neighborhood of Clairemont. Authorities said they were on the scene and urged nearby residents to avoid the area.

Aerial footage of the scene showed dozens of police vehicles lining a street and yellow caution tape cordoning off the area. Heavily armed officers were seen entering the building as people dispersed from the area, some holding hands.

Photos taken outside the center captured anxious onlookers, several of them talking on their phones.

At 3:53 p.m., police provided an update stating that the scene was “still active but contained,” adding that “significant resources” had been deployed.

FBI Director Kash Patel, California Governor Gavin Newsom and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria released statements saying they had been briefed on the situation and were coordinating with local law enforcement. And a spokesperson for an area hospital told NBC News that patients had been transported to them.

Shortly after 4 p.m., police said the threat at the center had been “neutralized.”

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl confirmed in a press conference soon after that three adult men were found dead at the scene and that no officers were involved in the shooting.

Authorities also located a vehicle a few blocks away containing two deceased male teenagers, believed to be 17 and 19, who were identified as suspects. They died from self-inflicted wounds.

A security guard at the center was among those killed, Wahl said, adding he he believed the guard “played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse.”

Wahl noted that the center is equipped with security cameras, which officials will review for evidence.

President Donald Trump described the shooting as a “terrible situation” on Monday afternoon, adding: “I’ve been given some early updates, but we’re going to be going back and looking at it very strongly.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim-American civil liberties organization in the U.S., released a statement condemning the shooting.

“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” CAIR said. “We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”

According to its website, the Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County, which has an estimated population of some 3.2 million people.

“Our mission is to serve the religious needs of the San Diego Muslim population and work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation,” the website states. The center hosts five daily prayers, sermons and various educational seminars.

As of May 18, there have been 186 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2026, according to the website Mass Shooting Tracker, which defines mass shootings as those in which four or more people are shot.