Guard hailed hero after saving 140 children in San Diego mosque attack

A security guard killed in the shooting at the Islamic Centre of San Diego has been hailed as a hero for helping save about 140 schoolchildren by confronting two teenage gunmen during the attack, authorities said on Tuesday.

San Diego police identified the guard as Amin Abdullah, also known as Brian Climax. According to Police Chief Scott Wahl, Abdullah exchanged gunfire with the suspects in the mosque parking lot on Monday, delaying and distracting them as they attempted to move deeper into the complex.

Abdullah was fatally shot during the confrontation, along with two other men who authorities said helped draw the attackers away from crowded areas of the mosque while officers rushed to the scene.

Police said Abdullah also transmitted the emergency radio call that triggered lockdown procedures inside the mosque complex, allowing worshippers and children attending classes at the adjacent Bright Horizon Academy to shelter behind locked doors.

“His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred those 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 told reporters, according to Reuters.

The two suspects, identified by officials as Caleb Vasquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17, fled the mosque complex by car shortly after the shooting. Police later found both teenagers dead inside the vehicle several blocks away from what investigators believe were self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Taha Hassane, imam and director of the mosque, described the three victims as “our martyrs and our heroes.”

Authorities said the attack is being investigated as a hate crime. FBI officials confirmed that one of the suspects left behind a manifesto, while investigators also discovered anti-Islamic writings inside a vehicle connected to the pair.

Police said the investigation began unfolding earlier on Monday after one suspect’s mother contacted authorities, reporting that her son was suicidal and had taken her vehicle along with three firearms from the family home.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and local police continue to investigate the motive behind the attack.

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