Hundreds of people turned out to a Clairemont Mesa park Tuesday evening for an interfaith vigil in support of the victims of a mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday.
The vigil was held at Lindbergh Park just steps from the center, where three people — Amin Abdullah, Nader Awad, and Mansour Kaziha — died in the shooting attack, which was carried out by two teenagers who then died by suicide.
People lit candles and dropped off flowers throughout the day at the center, which was closed all day Tuesday.
Members of the Islamic Center of San Diego have put together a fundraiser to support individuals and families affected by the shooting. A separate fundraiser has been established for the families of those killed in the shooting.
The victims “sacrificed their lives to protect the entire community inside,” said the Center’s director and imam, Taha Hassane.
Amin Abdullah, the mosque’s beloved security guard, helped stop further bloodshed by exchanging gunfire with the assailants before he was killed in the attack, police said.
“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,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a separate conference.
He added that the two others who were killed also effectively distracted the shooters and minimized their opportunities for killing or injuring more people.
Local leaders pointed out that the shooting was not just directed at a religious institution; it was also at a school, which was full of children at the time.
“If it weren’t for the bravery and selflessness of Amin Abdullah, the security guard who sacrificed his life, we’d have countless children dead today,” said Abdullah Tahiri, President of the Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego.
“This act of what we call domestic terrorism against the Islamic Center of San Diego; this was not only a mass shooting that happened at a religious institution, but this was a school mass shooting,” Tahiri added.
Leaders condemned the violence.
“We are all Americans and that should be our guide,” said said Oussama Jammal, secretary-general for the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, who was present at an earlier event. “That is how we make our country, our neighborhood, our streets better, safer. Stand with us on the same ground — that we are against any hate and any violence of any faith.
“If I am safe, my neighbors are safe.”
