Father-of-eight killed in San Diego mosque shooting hailed as hero
The bravery of a security guard who was shot dead along with two other worshippers at a San Diego mosque on Monday prevented the attack from being much worse, say police.
The guard was Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego (Cair-SD), Tazheen Nizam, told the BBC.
"It's fair to say his actions were heroic," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told a news conference. "Undoubtedly, he saved lives today."
Abdullah and two others - whom Cair-SD named as Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad - were killed by two yet-to-be-identified teenage attackers who then took their own lives, say police.
People who knew Abdullah told US media he looked after the community. Others have taken to social media to describe him as "the nicest man you'll ever meet".
The mosque called him "a courageous man who put himself on the line of the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community".
The guard was Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego (Cair-SD), Tazheen Nizam, told the BBC.
"It's fair to say his actions were heroic," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told a news conference. "Undoubtedly, he saved lives today."
Abdullah and two others - whom Cair-SD named as Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad - were killed by two yet-to-be-identified teenage attackers who then took their own lives, say police.
People who knew Abdullah told US media he looked after the community. Others have taken to social media to describe him as "the nicest man you'll ever meet".
The mosque called him "a courageous man who put himself on the line of the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community".