Mansour Kaziha, Nadir Awad and Amin Abdullah were known in the Islamic Center of San Diego for small, everyday kindnesses — a shopkeeper who let children take candy, a neighbor who was always smiling, and a vigilant security guard who greeted people with a warm smile and occasional advice. After a Monday shooting, they are being remembered instead for the courage that cost them their lives while keeping about a hundred children and staff inside the mosque from encountering two armed suspects.
Ghouse Mohammed, the center’s head of security, said none of the three hid or fled during the attack. “All three of them were heroes,” he told NPR. Community members have since gathered in grief and gratitude, and many have voiced frustration that rising anti-Muslim rhetoric likely helped create the climate for the violence.
At a Tuesday press conference, Mark Remily, the FBI’s special agent in charge in San Diego, said investigators believe the two shooting suspects were teenagers who shared a “broad hatred” of various races and religious groups. The FBI says it will keep investigating to learn how the attack happened and how to prevent future violence.
What we know about the three men
Amin Abdullah, 51, worked as a security guard and was a father of eight. His daughter Hawaa recounted that he missed her recent teaching credential celebration because he was on duty — an example of how seriously he took protecting the mosque. She said he sometimes skipped meals to remain at his post, fearing something could go wrong if he stepped away. Those who knew him said Abdullah was driven to protect the center in part by the memory of the 2019 mass shooting at a New Zealand mosque.
“The fact that so many lives were saved because of him is not a surprise to us,” said Ismahan Abdullahi, who grew up attending the mosque. “He was courageous, sincere, loving, and always put others first.”
Mansour Kaziha, 78, was a fixture at the Islamic Center since the 1980s. He was the mosque’s handyman and ran the center store, striking up conversations with visitors and becoming a familiar uncle figure to generations of children. Kaziha was also known for feeding hundreds during Ramadan iftar, where his lentil soup was much loved. Noor Abdi, a youth leader who grew up at the mosque, said Kaziha’s impact was everywhere: “We have lost a pillar of this center.”
Nadir Awad, 57, lived across the street from the center and his wife teaches at the mosque’s school. Though he did not hold an official role there, Mohammed described Awad as endlessly cheerful and quick to help. When he heard the first gunshots, Awad ran toward the mosque to see how he could assist.
Security concerns and response
Mohammed, who has overseen security at the mosque for 13 years, said threats against the center increased after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack in Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. The Islamic Center beefed up security after the 2019 New Zealand attack and began arming officers; Abdullah was among those who joined after that change. The mosque had practiced active shooter drills, but those exercises focused mainly on a single attacker, not two assailants.
Mohammed reviewed surveillance footage after the shooting and said Abdullah responded as he had been trained, doing his best to protect the place and the people inside. In the wake of the attack, Mohammed urged increased patrols and a greater police presence at houses of worship, saying, “We all are vulnerable. We don’t want this to happen anywhere, to any community, any faith-based organization.”
The FBI continues to investigate the incident, and the community continues to mourn the three men whose everyday roles became acts of sacrifice that saved others.