A frantic two hours as police struggled to assess threat before San Diego shooters opened fire

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

SAN DIEGO — The two hours before Monday’s deadly attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego were marked by a series of frantic calls by the mother of one of the attackers as short-staffed police struggled to assess the seriousness of the threat and scramble officers to find the shooters.The mother of 17-year-old Cain Lee Clark first called police at 9:42 a.m., about two hours before the first reports of an active shooter at the mosque.Police did not arrive at her home to speak to her until 11:10 a.m., according to sources with access to call logs.During that time, the mother had called at least two more times, with greater levels of concern, the sources said.

Those calls were enough for police to elevate the incident, more than an hour after the initial call.It’s unclear exactly what the mother told police during the first call, but police officials have said it came in as a “runaway juvenile,” and was classified as a “Priority 2,” one of the two law enforcement sources said.Multiple law enforcement officials said the waiting time between the mother’s first call and when an officer was dispatched was on par with similarly classified calls.According to data recently released by the city in a public records request, the average response time for the department for a Priority 2 was more than two hours as recently as March.The San Diego Police Department had been dealing with staffing shortages, which emerged as an issue earlier this month amid budget talks.

California Two people ages 17 and 18 opened fire at the center Monday morning, police said.They were found minutes later dead of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to authorities.The mother provided more details about her son in the subsequent calls, the sources said, and that prompted police to elevate the case to a Priority 1 call.

A terrorism liaison officer was brought into the case at 10:54 a.m., the...