On May 19, U.S. officials identified two more victims killed in the attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, which is being investigated as a hate crime. The victims are Mansour Kaziha, Nader Awad, and Amin Abdullah — the guard who is believed to have stopped the gunmen.
Speaking at a press conference on May 19, the president of the mosque's board of trustees, Ahmed Shabaik, said all three played a role in responding to the gunmen. Mansour Kaziha, a longtime employee of the mosque, called police before he was killed. Nader Awad, a congregant who lived across the street, ran to the facility when he heard gunfire. Amin Abdullah, the guard, engaged the gunmen and carried out lockdown procedures, slowing their advance.
Shabaik described Kaziha as a "pillar of this mosque," present since its construction in the 1980s, handling everything from running the gift shop to cooking during Ramadan. He was a Syrian national, married with five adult children. Of Awad, Shabaik said that upon hearing gunfire, he ran into the mosque to help and redirected some people coming to the mosque. Awad's wife is a teacher at the Islamic school.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the actions of the three victims likely saved the lives of 140 children inside a school on the premises. "I want to make it clear, our three victims did not die in vain," Wahl said. "Without the distraction, without slowing down the actions of the two attackers, there would certainly have been more fatalities."
The attack occurred on May 18. The gunmen were identified as two teenagers, aged 17 and 18, found dead from self-inflicted wounds. Police said they had been looking for the two teenagers for two hours before the attack, after the mother of one reported her son was suicidal and had left home. Investigators seized more than 30 guns and a crossbow from the suspects' homes.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) described it as "a deadly attack on an American mosque that was foreseeable but not acceptable." CAIR said anti-Muslim hatred has gone completely out of control, with Islamophobic statements from some U.S. senators and representatives increasing amid the conflict in Gaza.
Shabaik expressed relief that the attack did not occur during Friday prayers, the mosque's busiest time, and that a university class had left just before. A fundraiser for the victims raised nearly $500,000 within a day, while another for Abdullah's family raised over $2 million.
