Amin Abdullah, 'hero' guard killed in San Diego mosque shooting

The San Diego Mosque Shooting

A security guard at the Islamic Center in San Diego, California, has been hailed as a “hero” after he was killed while trying to prevent suspected shooters from entering the mosque complex in an attack police are investigating as a hate crime.

At least three people were killed after two teenage attackers opened fire at the San Diego mosque on Monday. Authorities have yet to publicly identify the victims, but community leaders have named the guard as Amin Abdullah.

Who was Amin Abdullah?

A family friend identified the guard as a well-known face at the mosque, who had been working there for more than a decade, The Associated Press news agency reported.

“He wanted to defend the innocent, so he decided to become a security guard,” said Sheikh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who had spoken with Abdullah’s son. The family could not immediately be reached for comment.

Local media reports suggest that Abdullah was a father of eight.

The Impact of the Attack

United States officials said the guard “played a pivotal role” in preventing the attack from being “much worse”. “It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference. “Undoubtedly, he saved lives today.”

At the time of the shooting, children were attending a private school located inside the complex, according to ABC News.

The Response to the Attack

The mosque’s director, Imam Taha Hassane, called it “extremely outrageous to target a place of worship”.

“All the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected,” he said.

He added that the centre focused on interfaith relations and community building, and that a group of non-Muslims had been touring the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the US, condemned the shooting.