Who Is Amin Abdullah? Hero Security Guard and Dad of Eight Died While Saving Others After Two Teens Opened Fire at San Diego Mosque

A security guard was killed while trying to save others after two teenagers opened fire at a mosque in California. Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, was among those killed after two teenage gunmen — identified by NBC News as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18 — opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont at about 11:40 a.m. on Monday.

Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference that Abdullah immediately jumped into action in an effort to protect others. “We do believe the security guard was able to help at least minimize the situation to the front area of the mosque,” Wahl said Monday night.

Fought Like a Hero

“At this point, I think it’s fair to say his actions were heroic,’ he continued. ‘Undoubtedly, he saved lives today,” Wahl added. Anees Faraj, a security guard who had worked at the mosque on and off for more than a decade, told the Daily Mail that the guard killed in the attack was Amin, a father of eight children.

Faraj, whose comments were translated from Arabic by his daughter Basmah, said he was not scheduled to work that day and was fortunate to have missed the shooting. He added that in all his years working at the mosque, he had never witnessed anything like the attack.

Faraj, who has been a licensed security guard since 2013, said he first learned about the shooting from a friend who regularly worships at the mosque. “A friend of mine, a regular worshipper at the mosque, told me about the news,” he said. “It is very shocking.”

His daughter said Faraj was left shaking his head in disbelief over the deadly attack, which authorities say was allegedly carried out by two teenagers.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found two other people dead outside the mosque. Police later tracked the suspected shooters dead inside a vehicle from what appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Monday Morning Mayhem

Police said they first received a call around 9:42 a.m. from a worried mother reporting her son as a runaway juvenile. After speaking with her, officers began treating the situation as a potentially serious threat to the community.

The mother believed her son was suicidal and told investigators that several firearms and her vehicle were missing from the home, according to police. She also said her son was accompanied by another man and that both were dressed in camouflage clothing.

Authorities did not confirm whether the missing teenager was directly connected to the mosque shooting.

The other victims included a grocery store owner and another man.

Police said at a press conference on Monday afternoon that the two suspects fled the scene in a white BMW.

“We are safe. The entire school is safe,” Islamic Center Imam Taha Hassane said in a video which was shared within California’s Muslim community. “All the kids, all the staff, and the teachers are safe and out of the Islamic Center.”

Authorities said officers arrived at the Islamic Center within four minutes of the first 911 calls, triggering what police described as a rapid and “dynamic” response to the shooting.

Investigators later found anti-Islamic writings inside the suspects’ vehicle, while the firearms used in the attack allegedly had “hate speech” written on them, a law enforcement source said.

The mosque’s imam confirmed that no children were hurt in the shooting.

The Islamic Center also houses the Al Rashid School, formerly known as the Islamic School of San Diego, where children from kindergarten through third grade attend classes.