Three victims identified in San Diego mosque shooting

Authorities and family members have confirmed the identities of the three victims killed in the May 18 shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. All three were engaged in life-saving actions at the time of the attack.

On May 19, law enforcement identified two of the victims, while friends and relatives had already named Amin Abdullah, the security guard shot dead while trying to stop the assailants from entering the mosque.

Mosque officials confirmed the other two victims also confronted the gunmen.

"We call them our community brothers. We call them our martyrs and our heroes," Imam Taha Hassane said at a memorial service.

According to the police chief, two teenage gunmen opened fire at the mosque while officers were already searching for one of them after his mother reported concerns he might be suicidal and had fled. The suspects were later found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head. Police are investigating the attack as a hate crime.

Mansour Kaziha

Kaziha, 78, also known as Abu Ezz, was a longtime mosque attendant. He called police before being killed, according to mosque board chairman Ahmed Shabaik. Kaziha, originally from Syria, was married and had five adult children. "He was the foundation, the pillar of this mosque," Shabaik said.

Shabaik noted that Kaziha had been with the mosque since its construction in the 1980s. "He did everything in the mosque — every daily need. Also he was a retail manager for the mosque gift shop, and he was behind all the cooking during Ramadan for iftar and suhoor preparations."

Yasser Kaziha, Mansour's son, described his father not only as a community pillar but also "the pillar of our family." "He taught us to face hardship and overcome it to achieve our personal goals, just as he did," Yasser said at the May 19 memorial service.

Nader Awad

Awad, 57, lived across from the Islamic Center and attended prayers "every single day," according to Imam Hassane. Hearing gunfire, Awad ran toward the building where his wife worked as a teacher at the mosque school.

"He left his house, tried to come and do something to help," Hassane said at the memorial. "He heard the gunshots, he ran into the mosque to help, also diverted some people who were coming into the mosque at that time," Shabaik added.

At a May 19 news conference, Hassane said Awad's wife taught at the Islamic school and he was a devout community member. "He was at the Islamic Center every day, praying every day."

Amin Abdullah

After Abdullah, 51, was identified among the dead, tributes poured in on social media. His Facebook page showed he was married, and local media reported he was father to eight children.

U.S. officials said the guard "played a key role" in preventing the attack from being "far worse." "It's safe to say his actions were heroic," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said. "There is no doubt that he saved lives today."

His daughter, Hawaa Abdullah, told a news conference on May 19 that her father was loving, supportive, "my best friend" and a role model. "He took his job protecting the community so seriously that sometimes he wouldn't eat during his shift because he feared that if he took a break, something bad would happen."

According to longtime attendee Mahmood Ahmadi, Abdullah greeted all visitors with a smile and the traditional Arabic greeting "as-salamu alaikum" — meaning "peace be upon you." Another friend, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, said Abdullah was present nearly every day and was devoted to his wife and eight children.

Abdullah was raised Christian and in a 2019 YouTube video recounted discovering Islam after high school. Farooq said he met Abdullah shortly after he converted in the 1990s. Recently, they had made the pilgrimage to Mecca together.

"Amin was born a Muslim with an African-American mother. He was as American as could be. He was also as Muslim as could be. He was killed by the bullets of two American youths," Kashif-ul-Huda, a biotechnology expert and former colleague, wrote to Al Jazeera.