Community honors three men as heroes after San Diego Islamic Center shooting

San Diego police and leaders at the Islamic Center of San Diego say the three men killed in Monday’s shooting died while confronting the attackers and helping prevent a larger massacre. The victims were identified Tuesday as security guard Amin Abdullah and community members Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad. Police Chief Scott Wahl said the men delayed and distracted the two teenage gunmen long enough to keep them from reaching areas where about 140 children were inside the Clairemont complex. Authorities are investigating the May 18 attack as a hate crime, and the FBI is also involved. ### Who were the three men being honored? Imam Taha Hassane identified the victims as Abdullah, Kaziha and Awad during a Tuesday briefing at the mosque. Hassane said Abdullah, the center’s security guard, was “a lovely person” who “never stops smiling,” while describing Kaziha as a longtime elder who had been part of the community since 1986. He said Awad lived across the street, attended prayers daily and had family ties to the Islamic school on the campus. (kpbs.org) KPBS reported that officers arrived within four minutes of the 11:43 a.m. call and found the three men dead. The center is one of the largest Muslim institutions in San Diego County and includes the Al Rashid School, where children were present when the shooting began. ### How did police say the men intervened? Scott Wahl said Abdullah was the first to engage the suspects outside the mosque and exchanged gunfire with them. (kpbs.org) Surveillance video reviewed by police showed Abdullah speaking into his radio to begin locking down the mosque before the attackers moved into the front lobby, Wahl said. Wahl said Abdullah’s actions “delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred” the gunmen from gaining access to larger parts of the building, where “as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet of these suspects.” After the attackers moved back outside, police said they encountered Kaziha and Awad in the parking lot and killed them there. (kpbs.org) Wahl said the men’s actions bought time until officers arrived. ### What do investigators say happened in the attack? San Diego police said the shooting was reported shortly after 11:40 a.m. on May 18 at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont. Officers found three victims dead at the center and later found the two suspected shooters, ages 17 and 18, dead in a car from what police believe were self-inflicted gunshot wounds. (kpbs.org) Wahl said investigators found evidence of “generalized hate rhetoric,” and police were treating the case as a hate crime unless evidence showed otherwise. The FBI said it was also investigating. ### What has the community said about the victims? Hassane said Kaziha was the mosque’s “handyman,” “cook” and “care taker,” and said he was the first person to call 911. (kpbs.org) Community members and local news outlets have described all three men as pillars of the local Muslim community. Wahl told reporters on Tuesday: “All three of our victims did not die in vain.” He said that without the victims’ efforts to slow the attackers, “there would have been many more fatalities.” At a UC San Diego vigil, hundreds of students and community members gathered to honor the dead, according to Fox 5 San Diego. (kpbs.org) ### What happens next in the case? (kpbs.org) The FBI and San Diego police are continuing to investigate the motive, the suspects’ backgrounds and the evidence recovered after the shooting. Officials have not announced charges because both suspected gunmen are dead, but the hate-crime investigation remains open. (kpbs.org) Community memorials continued on May 19 and May 20, and local reporting said the mosque had reopened as worshippers and families confronted the aftermath of the attack. San Diego officials and Islamic Center leaders have said more public vigils and support efforts for the victims’ families are expected in the coming days. (kpbs.org)