Community grieves the 3 men killed while defending San Diego mosque
I. I was on. OK. Good morning, everybody. Let me start by saying, uh, we’re gonna try to cover many of the developments that we’ve learned over the last 24 hours. We’re going to identify the names of the victims from yesterday’s horrific event. Uh But I, what I wanna really start with explaining to everybody, particularly. In our Muslim community I know it may not feel this way, but we are one. Community. You’re going to see *** visible presence. At places of worship Throughout our county. Law enforcement is banding together to make sure that There is *** feeling Of being safe At every place of worship. I talked yesterday about The heroic actions of *** security guard. As the at the Islamic Center. I had no idea how heroic. Those actions were Individuals that Did this heinous act. Ran past the security guard, most likely not knowing he was there. He immediately observed. The threat To everybody at The mosque He began to engage them with gunfire. Both suspects returned fire. You can see the security guard reach for his Radio. And put out the lockdown protocol. The security guard then continued to engage in *** gun battle. With these two suspects. His actions without *** doubt delayed. Distracted And ultimately deterred. These two individuals from gaining access to the greater. Areas of the mosque where As many as 140 kids. We’re within 15 ft. Of these suspects. Tragically, He died in that gun battle. The other two victims. As best we can tell with the video surveillance at the mosque. drew the attention of both of these suspects. Back out into the parking lot area. Where they were unfortunately. Unable to flee And both suspects We’re able to successfully corner them. And kill both of them. While both suspects were outside. The massive response. That was seconds away. Undoubtedly pushed both of the suspects to run back to their vehicle and flee the parking lot. And I want to be very clear, all three of Our victims did not die in vain. Without distracting the attention, without delaying. The actions of these two individuals. Without question there would have been many more fatalities yesterday. Here with me To tell you *** little bit about. These 3 victims. Is Imam Taha Which you will not hear from us today. Is the names of these two suspects. Today is about Our victims In our community. Coming back together again. And I, I have to say, The courage and the strength that Imam Taha. Has shown in the last 24 hours. Is beyond inspiring And so with that, let me bring up Imam Taha to talk about our three victims. Thank you, Chief Wall. Excuse me if I get *** little bit emotional. We call them our brothers in the community. We call them our martyrs and our heroes. Our security guard Amin Abdullah. He goes by, I mean Abdullah. Uh, Brian Climax. Such *** lovely person He never, never stopped smiling. To anyone, to our community members, as well as our visitors. If it was not for him, As Chief mentioned. The carnage would be much worse. He’s the one who stopped them, who slowed them down. If he didn’t do what he did. And he sacrificed his life. The two suspects would have easily access to every single classroom. We’re so proud of him. I envy him when I see. Messages about him literally from all over the world talking about his heroism. This is our brother. Second one. Mansour Taziha, our elder He goes by Abu Azis. He is the Peter of the Islamic Center in San Diego. He has been since 1986. When the community started breaking the ground to build the Islamic Center, he was there. He has been at the Islamic Center for the last 40 years. Working nonstop. In the last 22 years being the imam and director of the Islamic Center of San Diego. I have never done anything without him. He is on the top of my. List For people to call. Every single thing going wrong. Even the The light, you know, is not working. Brother Abu Az, can you come and fix it? Anything that goes wrong. He was the handyman, he was the cook, he was the caretaker, he was the storekeeper. He was everything. I don’t know what I’m going to do. At the Islamic Center without his assistance, his daily assistance. We miss him. The entire community miss him. Our 3rd brother, Nadir Awad, our neighbor. He lives across the street from the Islamic Center. His wife is *** teacher at the Islamic school. He is every single day at the Islamic Center joining the prayers, every single day. When he heard the shooting, he rushed. To do something To protect And he joined Mansour Kaziha. They died together. Mansour Kaziha was the first one who called 911. Right before he What killed. And both of them, they tried to do something. They were hiding in the parking lot next to the kitchen. They tried to do something To protect But unfortunately, They sacrificed their lives. To protect the entire community inside the Islamic Center of San Diego. I was there. I was upstairs. And I heard everything. I was hiding. Until The law enforcement came and escorted us outside the building. We have never ever expected such *** thing to happen at the Islamic Center of San Diego. I mean, We are used to receiving hate mails, hate messages. People driving by and Cursing and all that stuff, I’m. But such horrible crime we have never expected this, even though. We tried throughout the years everything we could do. Applying for Homeland Security grants. We have *** fence. Security armed guards. Security cameras covering every single spot inside and outside the Islamic Center. What could we do more than this? So this is what my community is going through at this time. My community is mourning. My community is keeping our three heroes. In their prayers, my community is around the three families. Trying to Show support And sympathy. So this is what happened at the Islamic Center, and these are our three heroes. Please keep them in your prayers. Thank you. Uh, let me say that the collaborative response and approach to yesterday’s event. It’s been overwhelming. I know that we’ve had support from the US Attorney’s Office, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. From the San Diego County District Attorney’s office, from every law enforcement agency here in San Diego County. Uh Investigators have been working through the night. Uh, and here to talk about some of the details and things that we’ve developed over the last 24 hours is Special Agent in Charge of the FBI here in San Diego, Mark Rimley. Got you. Thank you all for coming. My name is Mark Brimley. I am the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. First, I want to reiterate our deepest condolences to the victims and their families for the horrific incident they suffered yesterday. Violence for any reason will never be the answer. The victims who lost their lives yesterday were there to help others be part of *** community that came together in peace. Instead, they were confronted by teenagers who appeared to have been radicalized online to believe that they didn’t belong because of how they looked or where they worshiped. They couldn’t be more wrong. The FBI takes very seriously any violence. And we refuse to give these subjects *** platform to try to inflict their hateful beliefs onto others. We will not stand idly by and give their hate any credibility. We are thoroughly investigating this case to learn everything we can and will not stop until we get to the bottom of what happened and why. But we also want to learn how this happened and what we can do to stop future acts of violence. FBI personnel are working diligently on this case to uncover everything we can about the subjects. I want to thank all the employees of the FBI San Diego Field Office and the US Attorney’s Office who worked tirelessly throughout the night. Our SWAT team, our evidence response team, special agents, intelligence analysts, professional staff work side by side with our San Diego Police Department to collect every piece of evidence and review every piece of information we have so far. Here’s what I can share with you that we know at this time about the case. In coordination with the San Diego Police Department, we’re currently conducting extensive interviews with the subject’s family and friends. We’ve executed 3 search warrants at residences associated with the subjects. During those searches, we found and seized numerous firearms from two of those locations, including numerous pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, tactical gear, as well as electronics. So far in this investigation, we’ve seized over 30 guns and *** crossbow. We’re continuing to process the information from all the locations, and we will provide more information when we’re able to do so. We’ve also executed search warrants on the electronic devices the subjects had with them at the time of the incident. And we’re in the process of obtaining additional search warrants for additional devices. In the vehicle they use, we also identified writings and various ideologies outlining religious and racial beliefs of how the world they envisioned should look. These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated. And let me be very clear, to anyone that thinks that they can end the world through violence, they are sorely mistaken. The FBI, our law enforcement partners in our community are much stronger than you think, and we will always. Serve on the right of good. I want to thank all of our law enforcement partners who responded to yesterday’s shooting without hesitation. Truly the quick work of the San Diego Police Department in tracking down the subject’s vehicle and their instincts in intercepting the subjects helped keep *** horrific situation from being far worse. We are grateful to all of our partners. We couldn’t do it without them. We’ll continue to work closely with all of our partners through this investigation until we get all the answers we all deserve. Again, we also want to thank the public. For their patience, and we ask you to continue submitting information by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or submitting any photos, digital evidence, or images you may have to FBI.gov/Islamic Center of San Diego shooting. Lastly, our victim specialists are available and we’re getting reinforcements from headquarters today to assist anyone in this community that was impacted by the shooting. This is in addition to the resources the San Diego Police Department and the District Attorney’s office are already making available. To that I’ll turn it over to the chief. At the forefront of today’s message and, uh, you know, our collective direction moving forward is to bring this community back together again. Uh, and, and here as the mayor, uh, and as *** person that deeply cares. About what is happening here in this city. Mayor Todd Gloria. Thank you, Chief, and thank you all for being here. Imam Taha, thank you so much for sharing your testimony and your witness and letting your fellow San Diegans know more about these three extraordinary men who, as you just heard, sacrificed their own lives in order to protect the children that were at that school and many others who could have otherwise been harmed by these 2 shooters. I want to be very clear that those 2 young men do not represent our city. These 3 Muslim men do. Their heroicism, their selflessness represents the very best of this city. And Imam, you’ve said that your community is mourning, and I’m here to say very specifically, our entire city is mourning. We will mourn these three heroes as for what they are heroes, and we will remember their sacrifice always. I want to express my appreciation to our public safety professionals. Chief Wall, you and your department have done an exceptional job, and I want the people of this city to know that we are protected by the very best. We fund them, we train them, and we equip them to do their jobs, and you saw yesterday, they did their jobs and they did it exceptionally well. Under Chief Wall’s leadership with the partnership of Sheriff Martinez and our district attorney Stefan, as well as our partners at the state and federal level, what you see is *** level of collaboration that you don’t see anywhere else in this country, and that collaboration is what makes us one of the safest big cities in America. My hat’s off to every officer who responded to that incident yesterday. I thank you for what you do. I have the utmost respect for what you do, and I thank you on behalf of all the residents of our city. Lastly, I would like to say to my fellow San Diegans. This is *** time for us to come together. This pain is unimaginable. And for many of our community, specifically our Muslim brothers and sisters, they need our care, our comfort, our concern, and our support. And I, for one, I’m here to make sure that they receive it. Charitable funds have been established through the Islamic Center of San Diego to help support the families of these three men. There’ll be other ways to support them and to show your support in the coming days and ask folks to take advantage of those opportunities to show what we are, which is America’s finest city, *** place on the US-Mexican border along the Pacific Rim, *** place of extreme diversity, and all of us know that we’re made better because of that diversity. Now is the time not to divide ourselves as the two murderers yesterday are attempting to do, but instead to come together as one San Diego. And now more than ever to express our solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters in this time of great need. I know that we will do this because we’ve done it before. We will do it again. And lastly, again, in memory of the three men that were lost yesterday, they represent the very best of the city. Let them always be remembered as the heroes that they are. Thank you. OK, I’ll go ahead and open up to some questions. Uh, uh, just to, to be clear on the timeline, you talked about it in great detail, all the heroic actions of all three of these men. We know that the shooters did make it in the front entrance of the center, but they didn’t go further than that. Did they leave the center because the guard had slowed them down and got the building on lockdown and so they couldn’t get any further. Thank you, Trevor. So the question for everybody is, uh, what depth into the facility, into the mosque did the shooters actually go? Uh, what we’ve learned after reviewing extensive video from yesterday’s events, uh, when they engaged the security guard outside. Uh, they began to make entry into the front lobby. While they were engaging in *** gun battle with the security guard. Uh, Ultimately, The security guard was was wounded and then and then killed outside of the mosque. They went back inside. I can understand that the security guard had put out *** lockdown protocol. The sound of the gunfire, all of the delay in that gun battle allowed everybody to get out of the main common areas of the mosque and into areas of hiding. So when they began to go through areas of the mosque, they were not running into. More victims. As they began to move from room to room, some of the video surveillance shows that they’re going into areas where thankfully nobody was at. Ultimately you can see them look out *** window. It’s unclear as to whether they could see clearly through that window or not, but it’s, you can see one of them point to the window. And then they run out of *** door. Right next to that window and immediately engage. The two remaining victims outside in the parking lot, and I think that is *** significant point for everybody to understand is when they drew. Obviously inadvertently drew the attention of those gunmen out of the door. Uh, and out into the parking lot, uh, where they subsequently died. Uh, what was coming seconds away was hundreds of police officers that everybody. That was there yesterday could see They immediately ran to their vehicle and fled the scene at that point. And I, I I truly believe that that’s what saved the 140 kids that were just inside. Yes ma’am. How did these teenagers get access to so many different types of weapons, and do you have any details to share about the weapons that they used in yesterday’s crimes? Uh, I can tell you at this point that the guns were not registered to. These individuals Um Uh, and, and, and belong to the parents of one of the individuals, uh, and exactly how they, uh, came into, uh. They were able to obtain them is still under investigation. Yes ma’am, the fact that the weapons did come from one of the parents, will you be recommending charges against the parent in this case, or can you share an update on where you’re at in that determination? We’re still, still looking into it. Still, we’re 24 hours out. We’re still looking into it completely. I ask you, I know you’ve read the writings. I know you’re limited in what you can tell us. We were told before it was hatred towards everyone. Can you give us an idea of, of maybe *** bit more of what the writings contained? And also, do you believe that the students in this, these two schools were the specific targets? Is that who these gunmen wanted to kill? Repeat the last part of that question. The, he ended up at this Islamic center, which has the two schools. Were the students their main target you feel? Did they, did they want to kill students? So we’re still trying to gather *** bigger picture as to exactly what the intended. Target location was, um, I’m gonna bring Mark back up here to talk about *** little bit more about, uh, maybe what some of that rhetoric was, um, but we’re still we’re still looking into exactly what what that scope of, uh, threats that the threat picture was. Right Yeah, thank you for your question. So I can confirm there has been *** manifesto that’s been recovered. Uh, I would reiterate it’s early on in the investigation. Um, we are dedicating every resource the FBI has to conduct *** thorough analysis of that manifesto. To try to learn what led to this, but I think also more importantly, how can we stop future attacks. So I know there’s *** lot of questions related to this on the community. What I would just continue to reiterate is they didn’t, they didn’t discriminate on who they hated. It covered *** wide aspect of races and religions, more than just the Islamic people in that church, correct, correct. But Special Agent, they nevertheless in *** city that’s majority white, specifically picked out *** site where they knew there would be immigrants where they. Muslims, that doesn’t seem to suggest, respectfully that they hated everybody. I would say we’re still too early in the investigation to say that the Islamic Center of San Diego was the specific target. We are assessing and analyzing all the evidence. Again, it’s very early. We’re still looking through electronics to give us the answers, but again, what I can say is they definitely had *** broad hatred towards *** lot of folks. Are you, are you aware of the suspects live streaming the attack or their own deaths? I’m, I’m aware of that information, and again, not *** lot I can share at this point because we’re actively going through those electronics. We just recently got search warrants in place, so we are, we are digging into that as aggressively and as quickly as we can. To the extent that you’re able, can you characterize their deaths? I can’t really. I apologize. Yeah, you mentioned that they were radicalized online. Can you talk more about that? Is that going through their computers, their laptops, their phones? What can you tell us about that? We’re, we’re still going through again all that information, but what we do believe is that they met online and through the course of that online communication they discovered that they were both residing in the San Diego area. And they became acquaintances or associates and had in-person contact at that point. But in terms of how the radicalization occurred, we’re still digging into all that. I know that you got *** call yesterday from one of the suspects’ mothers. Have you been in touch? How much have you been in touch with the other suspect’s family? You know, I want to be sensitive with what I share at this point. Uh, we are getting *** lot of information from *** lot of people, uh, and so it’s again, it’s an ongoing. I know the community has *** lot of questions that we want to share and be as transparent as we can, but understanding we also have to be sensitive to the investigation of the victims and the and the witnesses we’re talking with. So, uh, when, when the time is right, we’ll absolutely share as much as we can. Are you able to confirm which mother called the 17-year-olds or the 18-year-olds? Do you want to touch on that? Um, yeah, we can do, so, the, uh, the younger, suspect’s mom is on that call. Uh, if I could, could I ask the imam *** question? Yes, please. Um, you talked about how the Islamic Center became too far too familiar with receiving hate, how you’ve taken all of these steps to protect buildings, including hiring me. And first question would be how many years ago had you hired him? Amin, I believe, if I’m not mistaken, was hired sometime in 2019, 2020, quite some time. It’s, it’s also very clear by the actions that he took immediately getting things on lockdown that this was something that he and the center had planned for. Is this something that you had talked to him about? Yeah, yeah, yeah, we, we, we do, uh, uh, drill, you know, uh, test every time, uh, especially with the school, um, multiple times every school year. Um, so he knew about the system of notifying the teachers in their classrooms. In case of an active shooter, and he just implemented what what he knows about about the system, so yeah, surely when you’re going through all those drills though, you’re not necessarily thinking it could be real, of course, I mean. As I talked to some of the teachers yesterday, they told me, you know, Our experience today, which means yesterday, was totally different than the drills that we have done before, so it’s obviously it’s different, but it worked, you know, I mean, the lives of the kids were saved. The lives of everyone in the in the school were saved. And we are so grateful for that. And how are the victims’ families doing today? They are *** shock, um, you know, this morning they started showing up to pick up some stuff of their kids, uh, and even also the teachers. Some of the teachers showed up to pick up some stuff from their classrooms, so, uh, they canceled. The Islamic school canceled school the rest of this week and next week because next week is *** great Muslim holiday, Eidul-Adha, the day of sacrifice, so. For these, let’s say 2 weeks there is no school, so many families came to pick up their stuff that they left in the classroom, yeah, but they’re devastated. I mean, everyone. Stepped in in tears. Question for the chief, please. Um, you, you were contacted, if I understand, at least 2 hours before the shooting. And you knew who the suspects were, you knew that they were carrying the phones, I guess I’m trying to understand with all the technology, all the cameras, cellphone technology, how, why weren’t they like found and stopped before this happened? Uh, well, let me clarify just *** little bit of that. Uh, so we did not have *** complete understanding of any type of connection between suspect one and suspect 2. We had the parent of suspect one calling. And as she’s beginning to understand the circumstances surrounding her son’s situation. Uh, and as she’s beginning to provide that information to us. Uh, The details and information began to broaden our threat assessment and our understanding of what we were dealing with, and it went from *** runaway suicidal. Individual to homicidal. Potentially homicidal, uh. Two suspects. Yes, we were utilizing technology to try to get out in front of them. But this is all happening in real time. Uh, and, and we did utilize technology to try and to try and do that, but you have to have. Certain cell phone information to be able to get. The things we need to be able to go up on those cell phones and some of that takes *** little bit of time, um. Uh, but tech technology was utilized from the very beginning to try to get out in front of these guys. Yes, sir. So I’ve been to the center and that usually doesn’t open until about noon for the noon prayer noon prayers. It seems like the suspect, one of them lives in the neighborhood, so it seems like they actually knew, uh, what’s going on. So it seems like they were, the center was targeted at noon because of that. And second question is, um, for something like this magnitude, usually the, uh, search, search warrant didn’t take as long as it did. So why did, why was the search warrant took so long? I mean, we knew that the, uh, search warrant wasn’t executed until late last night. So, uh, the first part of your question, uh, we’re, we’re still completely under investigation. We’re 24 hours outside of the onset of this incident, uh, in, in, in searching through all of their social media, their phones, their, their computers to try to figure out. Uh, what their plans were in totality is, is happening in real time as well, so more information will come in the days ahead. Uh, I think when you know we watch TV shows on how this stuff transpires, it’s not that simple. *** lot of information. Very few facts. What goes into *** search warrant has to be. Credible verified information making sure that we’re filtering through. Rumors or assumptions or unknowns and getting to facts in the search warrants. So what we’re presenting in front of *** judge is Going to be enough to get that approved. It takes time and there was *** lot of information, *** lot of things coming together in real time in yesterday’s event. And so I’m going to say once we realized that we had no active threat, we can slow things down and do it right, uh, moving forward. Yes ma’am much specifically about the live stream, but did you learn anything specific in any social media posts that gave you an indication about their ideologies? All of that’s going to be continuing to develop as we further this investigation. Yes sir. Can you comment on how unique this situation is Muslim *** Muslim crime? Have you ever had any suspicions of something like this happening, or I haven’t heard of anything. Explain, explain. Tell me more. What, what, I don’t understand your question. Yeah, I mean, it’s two young kids who are Muslim, yes. I have no understanding of what the religious beliefs are. No, I don’t, I’m not sure. religious origin is at this point, uh, it is unclear. So the mother that called is not Muslim either. I have no information as to the faith or belief pattern of of our suspects in this case or their family members, but again, that part of the investigation is still underway. Yes ma’am. We heard from several community members that they had long standing concerns about threats to the security at the mosque, and I want to know if there were any threats or incidents in recent weeks and what you can tell us about that. Uh, specifically, none that I’m aware of. Uh, obviously in today’s world, uh, we take, uh, uh, the, the, the protection of all of our religious facilities, all of our mass gathering locations, all of the vulnerabilities that come with *** free society. Very seriously. Uh, we have to, you know, navigate *** very narrow path of following our constitution. I think one of the important takeaways from this moment is this didn’t just happen overnight. It is important for people that want to feel that they can do something. To reiterate The importance of if you see something, if you know something. And please come forward and say something. We have tips and lead lines that can, you can remain totally anonymous. Uh, I think there is, uh, uh, that can’t be overstated. We’re gonna do one more question. To your point about learning from this, now that you’ve, um, undergone many of these interviews, were there any red flags that you can speak to now, whether it’s from the suspects’ families or the schools, for example, we know one of the suspects was taking classes on. Line rather than in person now was that the result of disciplinary action, behavioral concerns, anything that you can share at this point about red flags for people to learn from? So I’m going to go back to this is still under investigation and I think more clarity as to What led up to this, uh, will, will make more sense in the future. Uh, uh, some of these things we don’t wanna rush to. I don’t wanna get out in front of until we can absolutely verify. I don’t wanna make assumptions because then we’re, we’re not putting out credible information to everybody. So, uh, listen, we’ll, we’ll provide more updates ahead, uh, and we’ll, we’ll get you information as it comes out and comes available. We appreciate everybody’s support in covering the story, and I’ll end with. Prayers for the families of the victims and the families in the Muslim community. Thank you everybody.
By Jaimie Ding, Ty O’Neil, Safiyah Riddle
The three people killed by two teen shooters at a San Diego mosque were beloved pillars of the community, and died while saving roughly 140 children who were in the building at the time of the attack, authorities said Tuesday.All three men were shot while trying to delay and distract the two gunmen who barged into the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.The Imam of the Islamic Center of San Diego, Taha Hassane, identified the three victims as Amin Abdullah, 51, Nadir Awad, 57, and Mansour Kaziha, 78, who was known as Abu Ezz.“We call them our brothers in the community. We call them our martyrs and our heroes,” Hassane said.The three men saved livesAuthorities described how the shooting unfolded based on security camera footage at the mosque, which is the largest in San Diego and attracts thousands of people from across the region during major holidays. In addition to having prayer five times a day, it also provides dinners and breakfasts during the Ramadan fasting period, hosts a school for Arabic and Islamic studies, and has a store inside.When the two shooters, ages 17 and 18, entered, they passed Abdullah, seemingly without notice, Wahl said. Abdullah, who was a security guard for the mosque for about a decade, quickly confronted them and exchanged gunfire.At the same time, he grabbed his radio and warned everyone to go into lockdown. As the shooters made their way into the lobby, they wounded him as he kept firing, forcing them back outside into the mosque’s parking lot. There, he was fatally shot.The shooters went back inside and searched through rooms that were emptied during the lockdown, Wahl said. The gunmen then went back out to the parking lot where Kaziha and Awad confronted them. Kaziha was able to call 911 before the gunmen fatally shot both men outside.“All three of our victims did not die in vain. Without distracting the attention, without delaying the actions of these two individuals, without question, there would have been many more fatalities,” Wahl said.A warm and welcoming presenceAmid an outpouring of condolences from Muslim leaders and politicians around the country, people in the tight-knit community say they are struggling to imagine the Islamic Center without the three men — who were widely regarded as central figures who made the mosque feel like home.Abdullah greeted all visitors to the mosque with a smile and the traditional Muslim greeting in Arabic of “as-salamu alaikum,” or “peace be upon you,” according to Mahmood Ahmadi, a longtime attendee. Another friend, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, said Abdullah was there nearly every single day and was dedicated to his wife and eight kids.His daughter Hawaa Abdullah, surrounded by family members at a Tuesday news conference, said her father was loving and supportive, a “best friend” and a role model. He took his job protecting the community so seriously he sometimes wouldn’t eat during his shifts, she said.“He wanted to save his food until after he left the job because he was afraid that if he were on his break, something bad will happen,” she said.Abdullah was raised Christian and described in a 2019 YouTube video his journey discovering the Islamic faith after graduating high school. Farooq said he met Abdullah shortly after he became a Muslim in the 1990s. Most recently, they had gone on a pilgrimage trip to Mecca together.Khalid Alexander converted to Islam around the same time as Abdullah roughly 30 years ago. The two men lived in a different San Diego mosque together at the time, where they helped each other imagine how to make meaningful, stable lives. Over the years, Alexander said that he has watched Abdullah take pride in his ability to care for his community as a security guard.“That was his dream job,” Alexander said.Alexander said that he and Abdullah sometimes discussed concerns about rising “anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-immigrant” sentiments on television. Often, those sentiments came directly to the San Diego mosque through hate mail, which prompted the hiring of security guards like Abdullah and installation of cameras, Hassane said.Alexander said Abdullah “was keenly aware of the dangers of his job — and that’s exactly why he chose to do it.”Father figure in the centerKaziha, known as Abu Ezz, was an integral part of the mosque since it was built in the 1980s, and has served the community “non-stop” since then, Hassane said.Hassane and others knew Kaziha as the first person to call when something went wrong.“He was the handyman. He was the cook. He was the caretaker. He was the storekeeper. He was everything,” he said.Yasser Kaziha, Mansour Kaziha’s son, described his father as not only a pillar of the community, but “a pillar of our household.”“He taught us to expect hardships and push through them to fill our individual purposes just like he did,” Yasser Kaziha said during a vigil Tuesday evening.Alexander has known Mansour Kaziha since before Alexander converted to Islam, and still remembers the first time in the mid-1990s when he was welcomed into Kaziha’s home. Decades later, Alexander said it was hard to imagine the center without him.“He was like, kind of like the father of that space,” Alexander said.Running toward gunfireAwad lived across the street from the Islamic Center and attended prayers “every single day,” Hassane said.When he heard gunfire, Awad he ran toward the building, where his wife is a teacher at the school.“He left his home, trying to go and do something to help,” Hassane said during the vigil.The three men’s actions, Alexander said, embodied the virtues of Islamic community in San Diego.“They really represented everything that’s beautiful about Islam and everything that is beautiful about Muslims,” Alexander said. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
LOS ANGELES —
The three people killed by two teen shooters at a San Diego mosque were beloved pillars of the community, and died while saving roughly 140 children who were in the building at the time of the attack, authorities said Tuesday.
All three men were shot while trying to delay and distract the two gunmen who barged into the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
The Imam of the Islamic Center of San Diego, Taha Hassane, identified the three victims as Amin Abdullah, 51, Nadir Awad, 57, and Mansour Kaziha, 78, who was known as Abu Ezz.
“We call them our brothers in the community. We call them our martyrs and our heroes,” Hassane said.
The three men saved lives
Authorities described how the shooting unfolded based on security camera footage at the mosque, which is the largest in San Diego and attracts thousands of people from across the region during major holidays. In addition to having prayer five times a day, it also provides dinners and breakfasts during the Ramadan fasting period, hosts a school for Arabic and Islamic studies, and has a store inside.
When the two shooters, ages 17 and 18, entered, they passed Abdullah, seemingly without notice, Wahl said. Abdullah, who was a security guard for the mosque for about a decade, quickly confronted them and exchanged gunfire.
At the same time, he grabbed his radio and warned everyone to go into lockdown. As the shooters made their way into the lobby, they wounded him as he kept firing, forcing them back outside into the mosque’s parking lot. There, he was fatally shot.
The shooters went back inside and searched through rooms that were emptied during the lockdown, Wahl said. The gunmen then went back out to the parking lot where Kaziha and Awad confronted them. Kaziha was able to call 911 before the gunmen fatally shot both men outside.
“All three of our victims did not die in vain. Without distracting the attention, without delaying the actions of these two individuals, without question, there would have been many more fatalities,” Wahl said.
A warm and welcoming presence
Amid an outpouring of condolences from Muslim leaders and politicians around the country, people in the tight-knit community say they are struggling to imagine the Islamic Center without the three men — who were widely regarded as central figures who made the mosque feel like home.
Abdullah greeted all visitors to the mosque with a smile and the traditional Muslim greeting in Arabic of “as-salamu alaikum,” or “peace be upon you,” according to Mahmood Ahmadi, a longtime attendee. Another friend, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, said Abdullah was there nearly every single day and was dedicated to his wife and eight kids.
His daughter Hawaa Abdullah, surrounded by family members at a Tuesday news conference, said her father was loving and supportive, a “best friend” and a role model. He took his job protecting the community so seriously he sometimes wouldn’t eat during his shifts, she said.
“He wanted to save his food until after he left the job because he was afraid that if he were on his break, something bad will happen,” she said.
Abdullah was raised Christian and described in a 2019 YouTube video his journey discovering the Islamic faith after graduating high school. Farooq said he met Abdullah shortly after he became a Muslim in the 1990s. Most recently, they had gone on a pilgrimage trip to Mecca together.
Khalid Alexander converted to Islam around the same time as Abdullah roughly 30 years ago. The two men lived in a different San Diego mosque together at the time, where they helped each other imagine how to make meaningful, stable lives. Over the years, Alexander said that he has watched Abdullah take pride in his ability to care for his community as a security guard.
“That was his dream job,” Alexander said.
Alexander said that he and Abdullah sometimes discussed concerns about rising “anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-immigrant” sentiments on television. Often, those sentiments came directly to the San Diego mosque through hate mail, which prompted the hiring of security guards like Abdullah and installation of cameras, Hassane said.
Alexander said Abdullah “was keenly aware of the dangers of his job — and that’s exactly why he chose to do it.”
Father figure in the center
Kaziha, known as Abu Ezz, was an integral part of the mosque since it was built in the 1980s, and has served the community “non-stop” since then, Hassane said.
Hassane and others knew Kaziha as the first person to call when something went wrong.
“He was the handyman. He was the cook. He was the caretaker. He was the storekeeper. He was everything,” he said.
Yasser Kaziha, Mansour Kaziha’s son, described his father as not only a pillar of the community, but “a pillar of our household.”
“He taught us to expect hardships and push through them to fill our individual purposes just like he did,” Yasser Kaziha said during a vigil Tuesday evening.
Alexander has known Mansour Kaziha since before Alexander converted to Islam, and still remembers the first time in the mid-1990s when he was welcomed into Kaziha’s home. Decades later, Alexander said it was hard to imagine the center without him.
“He was like, kind of like the father of that space,” Alexander said.
Running toward gunfire
Awad lived across the street from the Islamic Center and attended prayers “every single day,” Hassane said.
When he heard gunfire, Awad he ran toward the building, where his wife is a teacher at the school.
“He left his home, trying to go and do something to help,” Hassane said during the vigil.
The three men’s actions, Alexander said, embodied the virtues of Islamic community in San Diego.
“They really represented everything that’s beautiful about Islam and everything that is beautiful about Muslims,” Alexander said.
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