Hawa Abdullah said this a day after his father’s death, surrounded by sobbing family members. She remembered his dedication to others.
Islamic Center shooting was delayed by security guard Amin Abdullah
Police say security guard Amin Abdullah was instrumental in preventing the attack on the San Diego Islamic Center from escalating further.
The daughter of the man killed in the attack on San Diego’s largest mosque spoke out about her father Tuesday night, recalling his dedication as a parent and determination to fulfill his duty as a security guard.
“He was my protector,” said Hawaa Abdullah, the daughter of security guard Amin Abdullah, one of three men killed in the May 18 shooting at an Islamic center in San Diego. “He stopped whatever he was doing to make sure I was safe.”
Authorities have confirmed that Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, confronted the gunmen when they stormed the center on Monday. Imam Taha Hasan, director of the Islamic Center, told reporters that Abdullah’s courage saved as many as 140 children at the mosque’s school.
The gunmen, ages 17 and 18, were found dead from what police described as self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Authorities had not identified a suspect as of May 19th. Police said the shooting would be investigated as a hate crime.
Members of San Diego’s Muslim community spoke at a park near the Islamic Center on the afternoon of May 19, remembering the slain “three heroes”: Abdullah, neighbor Nadir Awad, and center employee Mansour Kazra.
Abdullah’s daughter described her father as someone who was passionate about education and who dreamed of his children becoming scholars. He encouraged his daughter to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher.
Surrounded by sobbing family members, Abdullah said he simply couldn’t see his daughter receive the certificate because he felt he couldn’t miss his work at the Islamic center. The guard joined the center’s staff in 2019 after attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, left 51 people dead.
“He took his job very seriously,” she said, adding that her father would skip meals at work “because he was worried something bad would happen during his breaks.”
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wall said Abdullah began firing at the suspects shortly before noon on May 18 after they ran through a security checkpoint at the mosque.
During the shootout, Abdullah ordered teachers at the center to close their doors by radio. Wahl said Abdullah continued to fire at the suspects until he was shot dead outside the mosque. Meanwhile, teachers moved the children to hiding places. The police chief said the room the gunmen entered was completely empty when they entered the building.
Police said Awad and Qazi were shot dead outside the building, and the two suspects fled the scene.
“They saved our communities, they saved mosques, they saved schools, they saved lives,” local imam Saad Erdegwi said of the trio. “If these three heroes hadn’t been there and sacrificed their lives, things could have been much worse.”
Kazi is “one of the main pillars of this community and this mosque, and I have known him for over 25 years,” Eldegwy said. “I can’t imagine walking into a mosque without seeing him walking and serving his community in every way.”
Many of the speakers on Tuesday denounced the anti-Muslim rhetoric that allegedly led to the attack.
Ismahan Abdullahi, head of the school’s mathematics department, said, his voice thick with emotion, “In a time when we have normalized the dehumanization of Muslims, both abroad and at home, and have criminalized both community faith and political speech, this is a time for reflection.” “We have to ask ourselves what kind of country we want to be, because the kind of country I want is one where no one has to hear the children of their beloved community members cry over the loss of their fathers.”
Contributions by Christopher Cann and Will Carless
