A shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in the US left three people dead after two teenage gunmen opened fire at the mosque complex, prompting a large-scale police response and investigation into a possible hate-motivated attack.
What happened?
The shooting occurred on May 18 at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the county’s largest mosque complex, during daytime activities while children and worshippers were present.
Officials said they were dispatched to the center at 11.43 am local time on Monday following reports of an active shooter at the site.
Two suspects, ages 17 and 18, approached the mosque “fully armored” with handguns and rifles.
Police later located the suspects dead inside a nearby vehicle from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Who are the victims?
Three victims were identified as Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad.
Amin Abdullah
Abdullah was the security guard at the center and he was hailed as a "hero" by the authorities.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters on Tuesday that Abdullah exchanged gunfire with the suspects before he was killed and managed to alert the mosque to initiate a lockdown.
“His actions, without a 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 were within 15 feet of these suspects,” Wahl said.
Islamic Center of San Diego Imam Taha Hassane said Abdullah, known as Brian Climax, was "such a lovely person."
"He never, never stops smiling at anyone, our community members, as well as our visitors. If it were not for him, as the 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 access to every single classroom easily," Hassane said.
“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.”
Mansour Kaziha
Kaziha, who goes by AbulEzz, was at the center since 1986.
“He is the pillar of the Islamic Center of San Diego, has been since 1986 when the community started breaking ground to build the Islamic center,” Hassane said.
Hassane said Kaziha was working "non-stop" for the last 40 years.
“Anything that goes wrong, he was the handyman, he was the cook, he was the caretaker, he was the storekeeper, he was everything,” he added.
Kaziha was the first person to call 911 about this shooting, according to the imam.
Nadir Awad
Awad was a neighbor who lived directly across from the mosque. His wife teaches at the Islamic school, and he was a regular attendee who joined daily prayers at the center.
“When he heard the shooting, he rushed to do something, to protect,” Hassane said.
Surveillance footage from the mosque reportedly shows him and the third victim, Kaziha, drawing the suspects’ attention out toward the parking lot and away from the building before they were cornered and killed by the attackers.
“They died together,” Hassane said.
“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,” he added.
What about the attackers?
Wahl said that police will continue to keep the identities of the suspects confidential for the time being.
"What you will not hear from us today is the names of these two suspects. Today is about our victims and our community coming back together," he told the reporters.
Police said that they have seized more than 30 guns and one crossbow from three search warrants at residences associated with the teenage gunmen.
The motives behind the attack are still under investigation.
Special agent in charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office, Mark Remily, said the suspects were “radicalized online.”
Remily said they 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," he added.
