Community mourns 3 men who died defending children at San Diego mosque
Community members mourned three men killed in a Monday attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, where authorities said the victims died while helping protect children inside during the shooting.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the attackers entered the mosque and that the men were shot as they tried to delay and distract the two teenage gunmen. Wahl said the incident unfolded as about 140 children were in the building at the time of the attack, according to authorities’ description of the scene.
Imam Taha Hassane identified the three men as Amin Abdullah, 51, Nadir Awad, 57, and Mansour Kaziha, 78, who was known as Abu Ezz. Hassane said the community regarded them as brothers and as martyrs and heroes.
Authorities described how the attack played out inside and around the mosque based on security camera footage. Wahl said Abdullah, who had served as a security guard for roughly a decade, confronted the shooters after they entered and then exchanged gunfire.
Wahl said Abdullah warned people to go into lockdown as the shooters reached the lobby. Wahl said the gunmen then moved into the area where rooms were being cleared for the lockdown, and Abdullah was fatally shot after the confrontation forced the attackers back outside into the mosque’s parking lot.
The authorities’ account said the shooters returned inside and searched rooms that were emptied during the lockdown before going back outside. Wahl said Kaziha and Awad confronted the gunmen in the parking lot, and Wahl said Kaziha was able to call 911 before the gunmen shot and killed both men outside.
At a Tuesday news conference, Hassane and others described how the three men were known over the years for offering everyday support as well as security. Mahmood Ahmadi, a longtime attendee, said Abdullah greeted visitors with the Arabic greeting “as-salamu alaikum,” meaning “peace be upon you.”
The community’s accounts also highlighted Abdullah’s personal ties. Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq said Abdullah was at the mosque nearly every day and was dedicated to his wife and eight kids, and Abdullah’s daughter Hawaa Abdullah described him as loving, supportive, and a role model who took his job so seriously that he sometimes would not eat during shifts.
In the same descriptions of community life, Khalid Alexander said he converted to Islam around the same time as Abdullah and that the two lived in another San Diego mosque together before Abdullah began the security role. Alexander said he and Abdullah discussed concerns about rising “anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-immigrant” sentiments that the community said could reach the mosque through hate mail, which prompted security measures such as hiring guards and installing cameras.
Hassane described Kaziha, known as Abu Ezz, as an integral part of the Islamic Center since it was built in the 1980s, saying he served the community “non-stop” and was often the first person people called when something went wrong. Hassane said Kaziha was “the handyman,” “the cook,” “the caretaker,” “the storekeeper,” and “he was everything,” and Kaziha’s son, Yasser Kaziha, described him as a “pillar of our household.”
Other attendees said Awad lived across the street from the mosque and attended prayers “every single day.” Hassane said that when Awad heard gunfire, he ran toward the building, where Awad’s wife is a teacher at the school, according to the authorities’ account shared during the aftermath.
As leaders and families held vigils and exchanged condolences, people in the San Diego area described the three men as central figures to the mosque’s sense of home. Alexander said the men’s actions reflected the virtues of Islamic community in San Diego, saying, “They really represented everything that’s beautiful about Islam and everything that is beautiful about Muslims.”