San Diego Mosque Guard Amin Abdullah Killed Trying to Stop Teenage Attackers

Amin Abdullah, a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego, was killed while attempting to stop two teenage gunmen who opened fire at the mosque complex. The attack left at least three people dead. Abdullah died while trying to prevent the gunmen from entering the complex. The suspects later took their own lives a few blocks away from the scene, and police said they are investigating the shooting as a hate crime after discovering evidence of generalized hate rhetoric linked to the attackers.

The Details

Amin Abdullah, who worked as a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego, was killed while trying to prevent two teenage gunmen from entering the mosque complex during the attack. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said Abdullah's actions were critical in preventing the assault from causing even greater harm. "It's fair to say his actions were heroic. Undoubtedly, he saved lives today," Wahl said during a news conference.

At least three people were killed after the two teenage attackers opened fire at the mosque complex. The suspects later killed themselves a few blocks away from the scene.

The mosque complex includes the Al Rashid School, which provides education for children aged 5 and up, and children were present on site during the attack. Police said the mother of one suspect had reported him missing and suicidal before the shooting occurred. Officers were already searching for the teens when reports of gunfire at the mosque complex came in.

Context

The Islamic Center of San Diego is the largest mosque in San Diego County. Beyond its role as a house of worship, the complex operates the Al Rashid School, which provides education for children starting at age 5.

Sheikh Uthman Ibn Farooq, a friend of Abdullah's family, said Abdullah had chosen to work in security because he wanted to protect innocent people from harm. "He wanted to defend the innocent, so he decided to become a security guard," Farooq said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement in response to the attack. "We are deeply disturbed, but not at all surprised, to learn that those who attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego were reportedly motivated by anti-Muslim hate," the organization said. Police said they found evidence of generalized hate rhetoric linked to the suspects and are investigating the shooting as a hate crime.

What's Next

Authorities had not publicly identified all victims at the time of reporting. Police said the investigation into the shooting continues, with authorities treating it as a hate crime based on evidence of generalized hate rhetoric linked to the suspects.

Researchers noted they were unable to independently corroborate the precise victim count and full attack chronology beyond Al Jazeera's AP-backed report. A standalone Associated Press article and additional local reports could not be fetched because search and scraping resources were unavailable during the research run. The details in this account therefore remain attributed to Al Jazeera's AP-backed reporting until further independent corroboration from additional sources becomes available.