Father-of-8 killed in San Diego mosque shooting hailed as a hero

The bravery of a security guard who was shot dead along with two other worshippers at a San Diego mosque on Monday prevented the attack from being much worse, say police.

The guard was Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego (Cair-SD), Tazheen Nizam, told the BBC.

"It's fair to say his actions were heroic," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told a news conference. "Undoubtedly, he saved lives today."

Abdullah and two others - whom Cair-SD named as Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad - were killed by two yet-to-be-identified teenage attackers who then took their own lives, say police.

People who knew Abdullah told US media he looked after the community. Others have taken to social media to describe him as "the nicest man you'll ever meet".

The mosque called him "a courageous man who put himself on the line of the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community".

Nizam, the Cair spokeswoman, told the BBC: "Amin was loved by everybody, he stood there day after day, always smiling, welcoming everybody, welcoming the kids who came to the school.

"He was a shining light. He is a true hero, a martyr."

A friend of the family told the Associated Press that Abdullah was well-known at the mosque and had worked there for more than a decade.

"He wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard," Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq, told the news agency.

Sam Hamideh knew Abdullah through the mosque and told the BBC's US partner CBS that the security guard would be remembered for his kindness.

"It didn't matter who walked up... any random person could just walk up and, like, [Abdullah] would greet them, make sure they are OK," Hamideh said.

"Whether they were homeless off the street looking for something, whether it was a child or elderly."

The other two victims were worshippers at the mosque, said Cair-SD. Kaziha helped maintain its grounds and convenience store. Awad's wife teaches at the school that is part of the Islamic centre.

The deadly shooting unfolded close to noon on Monday after the mother of one of the two alleged attackers called police to report that her son had run away with a friend and might be suicidal.

Hours later, as police were searching for the two teenagers, authorities found three victims with gunshot wounds outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, including Abdullah.

Shortly afterwards, police found the two suspects - aged 17 and 18 - dead of self-inflicted wounds in a vehicle blocks away from the mosque.

The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, Wahl said, noting that "hate rhetoric" was involved.