Police are beginning to piece together what happened on Monday when two gunmen shot and killed three people at a mosque in San Diego.
The San Diego Police Department officially identified the suspects as Caleb Liam Vasquez, 18, and Cain Lee Clark, 17. The pair appeared to have met online, according to Mark Remily, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego office. Officials say the two were were found dead with self-inflicted gunshot wounds near the scene.
Authorities believe the shooters “exchanged radicalized ideology,” according to CNN.
Investigators are still working to determine the attackers’ motive, but San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the shooting is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Fallen ‘heroes’ protected others, including many children
The two shooters entered the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, where the actions and “heroism” of three victims saved lives, Wahl said.
The victims were identified as security guard Amin Abdullah, center caretaker Mansour Kaziha and community member Nader Awad.
All three men were fathers and respected members of their communities.
Abdullah was a Muslim convert and found his calling as a security guard, The New York Times reported.
He was killed while working in that role, per reports.
“Keeping people safe in the spaces he was in was always his top priority,” said Khalid Alexander, a friend of Abdullah. “He died exactly the way he would have wanted to.”
The suspects initially ran past Abdullah, apparently without seeing him, Wahl believes. Abdullah used his radio to order a lockdown and then engaged both gunmen, The New York Times reported.
“His actions — without a doubt — delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred these two individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque, where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet of these suspects,” Wahl said, NBC News reported. “Tragically, he died in that gun battle.”
Abdullah was a father of eight children, according to The New York Times.
One of his daughters, Hawaa Abudllah, said her father was a “loving father, husband, son, brother and uncle” who was “all about education” and “dreamed more” for his children, according to CNN. She added he took his job so seriously that he would sometimes skip meal breaks, fearing “something bad would happen,” while he was away.
Kaziha was the center’s caretaker and mosque store manager.
The mosque’s imam Taha Hassane said he came to rely on Kaziha to keep the mosque running as a store manager, handyman and cook.
Kaziha and his wife were known for making Syrian lamb rice for thousands of worshippers and buying supplies for Afghan refugees, said Homayra Yusufi, senior policy strategist at the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, a refugee advocacy organization, The New York Times reported.
“He was everything,” Hassane said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do at the Islamic Center without his daily assistance. We miss him. The entire community misses him.”
Awad was also a frequent presence at the mosque, where his wife teaches at the Islamic school, Hassane said, according to NBC News.
“When he heard the shooting, he rushed to do something to protect,” Hassane said. “He joined Mansoor Kaziha. They died together.”
The diversion created by Awad and Kaziha drew both suspects outside, where they chose to flee seconds before police arrived, according to The New York Times.
“I want to be very clear, all three of our victims did not die in vain,” Wahl said, according to The New York Times. “Without distracting the attention, without delaying the actions of these two individuals, without question, there would have been many more fatalities.”
“I truly believe that’s what saved the 140 kids that were just inside,” Wahl said, according to NBC News.
“This is an act of heroism,” Wahl continued. “There is nothing else to describe what they did.”
Abdimalik Buul, whose child attends the school at the mosque, told Today the three men “exemplified what it means to be a human what it means to be a Muslim and what it means to be an American.”
In a statement, the Islamic Center described the men as “three pillars” of the community.
“These were men who put themselves on the line for our masjid and our community. Men of courage, sacrifice, and faith,” the statement said. “Their absence leaves a void that can never truly be filled. They were more than community members, they were family.”
Donors worldwide have since contributed nearly $3 million to support the victims’ families.