On a Monday morning in San Diego, a man who had spent more than a decade welcoming strangers through a mosque's doors made a final act of welcome's opposite — standing between his community and those who came to destroy it. Amin Abdullah, a fifty-three-year-old father of eight, died engaging two teenage gunmen at the Islamic Center of San Diego, an act police say spared the lives of worshippers and one hundred forty children in the adjoining school. Two other men, Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad, also perished in the attack, which investigators are treating as a hate crime rooted in a manifesto
San Diego mosque security guard hailed as hero for stopping attack
Three people killed in the shooting: security guard Amin Abdullah and worshippers Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad. Two teenage attackers also died by self-inflicted wounds.
He wanted to defend the innocent, so he became a security guard
Mark
What made Abdullah's actions in those first moments so consequential? Why did his decision to engage the attackers change the outcome so dramatically?
Mimi
He was at the entrance. When the gunmen appeared, he didn't hesitate—he started shooting. That forced them to return fire at him instead of advancing into the building where the children were. He also locked everything down immediately. The attackers had to make a choice: stay and fight, or leave. They chose to leave. That choice, those seconds, saved a hundred forty lives.
Mark
The police chief used the word "undoubtedly." That's a strong word. What does he mean by that?
Mimi
He means there's no ambiguity here. Without Abdullah's response, the attackers would have had access to the interior of the center. They would have encountered children. The math is simple and terrible. Abdullah's actions created a barrier they couldn't overcome.
Mark
Tell me about the other two victims. They seem to have played a role too.
Mimi
They were worshippers, not security. But when the attackers moved to the parking lot, Kaziha and Awad were there. The gunmen engaged them instead of returning to the building. That second confrontation, in the open, away from the school—it mattered. The police chief said all three victims deterred additional deaths. They didn't plan it that way. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, except they weren't wrong. They were exactly where they needed to be.
Mark
The manifesto—what did investigators find in it?
Mimi
They won't say much. But they found writings that outlined how these two teenagers saw the world through the lens of religious and racial hatred. The FBI said they didn't discriminate—they hated broadly. Whether the mosque was a specific target or just one target among many, investigators still don't know.
Mark
Abdullah's daughter spoke at the vigil. What did she say that mattered most?
Mimi
She said her father would want the community to stand together as one. That he wanted everyone to be better, regardless of who they are or what they identify as. She was telling people that his death wasn't the end of his message—it was the beginning of it. That's what he left behind.
Il Polso
- Two teenage gunmen, armed with weapons drawn from a cache of more than thirty firearms, arrived at a San Diego mosque just before noon — and a security guard was the only thing standing between them and 140 children.
- Amin Abdullah was killed in the exchange, as were two worshippers caught in the parking lot; the attackers fled and died by self-inflicted wounds blocks away.
- Federal investigators found a manifesto and writings outlining sweeping racial and religious hatreds, and the attack is now being prosecuted as a hate crime — though whether the mosque or school was the primary target remains unresolved.
- Abdullah's decision to engage the gunmen and trigger lockdown procedures is credited by the police chief as having 'undoubtedly' saved lives, transforming a potential mass casualty event into something that could be mourned rather than multiplied.
- A community vigil, nearly three million dollars in public donations, and the words of Abdullah's own daughter have begun the work of converting a moment of violence into a legacy of unity.
On a Monday morning in San Diego, a man who had spent more than a decade welcoming strangers through a mosque's doors made a final act of welcome's opposite — standing between his community and those who came to destroy it. Amin Abdullah, a fifty-three-year-old father of eight, died engaging two teenage gunmen at the Islamic Center of San Diego, an act police say spared the lives of worshippers and one hundred forty children in the adjoining school. Two other men, Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad, also perished in the attack, which investigators are treating as a hate crime rooted in a manifesto of racial and religious grievance. In the grief that followed, a community turned not toward the hatred that arrived at their door, but toward the man who refused to let it enter.
Amin Abdullah had spent more than a decade at the entrance of the Islamic Center of San Diego — greeting regulars, welcoming strangers, watching over the community he had made his own. On Monday, two teenage gunmen arrived, and he met them the only way his character allowed: he opened fire to stop them, and he was killed doing it.
Two other men died that morning. Mansour Kaziha, who tended the mosque's grounds and ran its small store, and Nader Awad, whose wife teaches at the school inside the center, were confronted by the attackers in the parking lot. Their resistance, too, drew fire away from the building. The two teenage suspects, aged seventeen and eighteen, died by self-inflicted wounds in a vehicle blocks away shortly after the attack began.
Police Chief Scott Wahl was unambiguous: Abdullah's actions at the entrance forced the gunmen to retreat and triggered lockdown procedures that protected one hundred forty children at the adjacent school. 'It's fair to say his actions were heroic,' Wahl said. Federal investigators, meanwhile, recovered more than thirty firearms and a manifesto from residences linked to the suspects — writings that described sweeping racial and religious hatreds. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime, though whether the mosque or school was the intended target remains unclear.
Those who knew Abdullah described a man of quiet, encompassing kindness — someone who would stop to check on a child, an elderly visitor, or a homeless stranger who wandered in off the street. A family friend said he had chosen security work precisely because he wanted to protect the innocent.
At a vigil Tuesday evening, his daughter Hawa stood with her siblings and spoke of what her father would have wanted. 'He would want our community to stand together as one,' she said. 'He wants all of us to be better, regardless of who we are.' The mosque called him 'a courageous man who did not stop protecting our community even in his last moments.' San Diego's mayor told the city plainly: the attackers 'do not represent our city — these three Muslim men do.' By Tuesday afternoon, a fundraiser for the victims' families had surpassed two point nine million dollars. The community's message was clear: Abdullah's death was not an ending, but a definition of who he was.
Amin Abdullah was working the entrance of the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday when two teenage gunmen arrived. He was fifty-three years old, a father of eight, and had spent more than a decade at the mosque—the kind of man who greeted everyone who walked through the door, whether they were regulars or strangers off the street. When the attackers appeared, he did what his job required and what his character demanded: he opened fire to stop them.
He was shot dead for it. So were two other worshippers—Mansour Kaziha, who maintained the mosque's grounds and ran its convenience store, and Nader Awad, whose wife teaches at the school housed within the Islamic center. The two attackers, both teenagers aged seventeen and eighteen, took their own lives in a vehicle blocks away from the mosque shortly after the shooting began.
But Abdullah's actions in those first moments, police say, prevented the attack from becoming far worse. When he engaged the gunmen at the entrance, he forced them to return fire and then flee. He also activated lockdown procedures that protected one hundred forty children at the school. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters that Abdullah's response "undoubtedly" saved lives. "It's fair to say his actions were heroic," Wahl said. The two other victims, confronted by the attackers in the parking lot, also drew their fire away from the building itself—a response Wahl credited with deterring additional deaths.
The shooting unfolded just before noon on Monday after the mother of one of the attackers called police to report that her son had run away with a friend and might be suicidal. As authorities searched for the two teenagers, they discovered the three victims with gunshot wounds outside the center. The investigation quickly classified the attack as a hate crime. Federal investigators recovered more than thirty guns—pistols, rifles, shotguns—from three residences associated with the suspects, all registered to one of the attackers' parents. They also found a manifesto and writings that outlined "religious and racial beliefs" about how the world should look, according to FBI Special Agent Mark Remily. "These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated," Remily said. It remains unclear whether the mosque or school were specific targets.
The community's response centered on Abdullah's character and legacy. Tazheen Nizam, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego, told the BBC that Abdullah was "a shining light." Those who knew him described a man of quiet kindness—someone who would welcome anyone, whether they were a child, elderly, or homeless. Sam Hamideh, who knew Abdullah through the mosque, said the security guard would greet random visitors and make sure they were okay. A family friend told the Associated Press that Abdullah had chosen security work specifically to defend the innocent.
At a community vigil on Tuesday evening, Abdullah's daughter Hawa, flanked by her siblings, spoke about her father's legacy. "He would want our community to stand together as one," she said. "That's exactly the legacy he left behind. He wants all of us to be better, regardless of who we are, what we identify as." The mosque itself released a statement calling Abdullah "a courageous man who put himself on the line for the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community."
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria made a direct statement to the city: the suspects "do not represent our city, these three Muslim men do." Vice-President JD Vance, speaking from the White House, called the shooting "reprehensible" and urged Americans to pray for those affected. He emphasized that political violence, regardless of its source, is unacceptable. An online fundraiser for the three victims had raised more than two point nine million dollars by Tuesday afternoon. The community leaders and the family's own words made clear that Abdullah's death would be remembered not as an ending, but as a statement about who he was and what he stood for.
Citazioni salienti
His actions were heroic. Undoubtedly, he saved lives today.— San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl
He was a shining light. He is a true hero, a martyr.— Tazheen Nizam, Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego
He would want our community to stand together as one. That's exactly the legacy he left behind.— Hawa Abdullah, daughter of Amin Abdullah
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su BBC News ↗
Crime & Justice