Shooting at San Diego mosque leaves three dead and two attackers deceased

Three people were killed Monday in an attack on a mosque in San Diego, California, by two teenagers who took their own lives before police arrived. This is an incident that authorities are investigating as a hate crime.

Police said emergency responders found the three victims outside the sprawling Islamic Center of San Diego and later found the two assailants, ages 18 and 17, dead as well.

Television images from a helicopter showed armed response teams gathering in front of a building, with an unidentified person lying in a pool of blood.

The Islamic center describes itself on its website as the largest mosque in San Diego County, in Southern California.

After a brief period of confinement, in which authorities advised residents in the area to remain under shelter, San Diego police announced that the threat at the center had been "neutralized."

The police chief explained that the mother of one of the suspects contacted authorities two hours before the attack and reported that her son had equipped himself with several weapons before fleeing in a vehicle with a companion.

Police initially deployed to an area around a high school with which the suspect was linked, until they received the call about an active shooter at the Islamic Center.

The woman reportedly related that her son had suicidal urges and that the youths were wearing camouflage.

A few blocks from the religious center, police found a vehicle in the middle of the street with the suspects in the attack dead inside.