Ammon News - Two teenage attackers fatally shot three men at a mosque in San Diego, California, in a suspected hate crime, before taking their own lives, say police.

The shooting took place on Monday morning, two hours after the mother of one of the suspects called police to say her son had run away with a friend and was possibly suicidal.

Police were already on the hunt for the two when the attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego began, and they found three victims with gunshot wounds outside the front of the building.

Shortly afterwards, they received another call that shots had been fired nearby from a vehicle at a landscaper. Officers found the suspects - aged 17 and 18 - dead of self-inflicted wounds in a vehicle blocks away from the mosque.

Among the deceased victims was a security guard who worked at the centre and "played a pivotal role" in preventing the attack from being "much worse", officials said.

"It's fair to say his actions were heroic," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told a news conference. "Undoubtedly he saved lives today."

Authorities have not yet identified the three victims by name. But the security guard was a father-of-eight, a person who knew him told the BBC's US partner CBS.