Amin Abdullah, ‘hero’ guard, killed in San Diego shooting

By Sarah Shamim and The Associated PressTuesday May 19, 2026

A security guard who died while trying to stop suspected gunmen from entering the Islamic Center in San Diego, California, is being praised as a “hero” after an attack police are investigating as a hate crime.

At least three people were killed when two teenage attackers opened fire at the San Diego mosque on Monday. Authorities have not publicly named the victims, but community leaders have identified the guard as Amin Abdullah.

United States officials said the guard “played a pivotal role” in keeping the assault from becoming “much worse”. “It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference. “Undoubtedly, he saved lives today.”

Children were attending a private school inside the complex at the time of the shooting, ABC News reported.

The suspected gunmen killed themselves a few blocks away.

Here is what is known so far about Abdullah and the attack at the mosque complex.

Who was Amin Abdullah?

A family friend described Abdullah as a familiar presence at the mosque and said he had worked there for more than 10 years, The Associated Press reported.

“He wanted to defend the innocent, so he decided to become a security guard,” said Sheikh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who said he had spoken with Abdullah’s son. The family could not immediately be reached for comment.

Local media reports indicate Abdullah was the father of eight children.

As reports identified him as one of those killed in the attack, tributes quickly began appearing online. A Facebook profile linked to Abdullah has 1,800 followers and lists him as married.

His most recent post, on May 13, showed a hawk perched atop a mosque minaret, with the caption: “Hawk on the minaret again, Allahu Akbar.”

On May 5, he wrote: “What is success? To many people success is financial stability, good reputation, beauty, etc. As for ME! Wallahi, thumma Wallahi. It is returning back to Allah OUR creator with the same pure soul he loaned me at birth.”

The Facebook account shows posts appearing a few times a month since December 2025. They included reflections on Islam as well as videos of Abdullah practicing archery.

Among those honoring Abdullah were matching posts on Facebook, X and Instagram from American Muslim scholar Omar Suleiman, who shared a screenshot of one of Abdullah’s Facebook posts.

In his caption, Suleiman wrote: “Brother Amin Abdullah was the guard at the mosque in San Diego for years. He was instrumental in stopping the shooters from reaching the children today. This was his final post on FB. On these holiest days, may Allah have mercy on him and accept him as a martyr. Ameen”

What happened at the San Diego mosque?

Police said officers responded at about 11:43am local time (18:43 GMT) to reports of an active shooter in the 7000 block of Eckstrom Avenue and arrived within roughly four minutes.

Authorities said there was no specific threat directed at the Islamic Center of San Diego, but investigators did find evidence that the suspects had engaged in “generalised hate rhetoric,” Chief Wahl said. He declined to elaborate, saying the “circumstances that led up to this” would become clearer in the coming days.

Before the attack, officers were already searching for one of the teenagers after his mother called police to say he was suicidal and had run away, Wahl said. Weapons were missing from the home, and the mother’s vehicle was also gone, he said.

The search intensified when police learned the teen was wearing camouflage and was with an acquaintance — details that did not fit with someone believed to be headed toward suicide, Wahl said.

Police used every tool available to track down the 17- and 18-year-old suspects, including automated licence plate readers. Officers were sent to a mall near the location where the vehicle had been tracked, and a school was alerted after police learned at least one of the suspects had been a student there, Wahl said.

While officers were still questioning the mother about possible places the teens might have gone, reports came in of gunfire at the mosque.

The centre is the largest mosque in San Diego County and includes the Al Rashid School, which serves students ages 5 and older with classes in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran, according to its website.

Aerial television footage showed more than a dozen children being led hand-in-hand from the centre’s parking lot as dozens of police vehicles surrounded the area. The mosque sits in a neighborhood of houses, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets.

The Islamic Center’s website says its mission is not only to serve the Muslim community, but also to “work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation”. The mosque holds five daily prayers and partners with other organizations and people of all faiths on social causes.

What has been the response so far?

The mosque’s director, Imam Taha Hassane, called the attack “extremely outrageous” and said no place of worship should be targeted.

“All the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected,” he said.

He said the centre places a strong emphasis on interfaith ties and community service, and that a group of non-Muslims had toured the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organizations in the US, condemned the shooting.

“We are deeply disturbed, but not at all surprised, to learn that those who attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego were reportedly motivated by anti-Muslim hate,” CAIR said in a statement on Monday.

“Hate against American Muslims is completely out of control. Numerous politicians have spent the past year claiming that all ‘mainstream Muslims’ should be destroyed, that American mosques and elementary schools should be shut down, and that American Muslims should be expelled from our nation. Just last week, House Republicans held a congressional hearing to fan the flames of hate against American Muslims, their houses of worship and even Muslim schoolchildren.

“A deadly attack on an American mosque was as predictable as it is unacceptable. Anti-Muslim hatred is one of the last acceptable forms of bigotry in American society, and it is long past time for the tolerance of this hate to end.”

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was horrified by the shooting. “I am horrified by the deadly attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, an apparent act of anti-Muslim violence,” he posted on X.

“Islamophobia endangers Muslim communities across this country. We must confront it directly and stand together against the politics of fear and division. My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones, and the entire community grieving this devastating attack.

“The NYPD [New York Police Department] is increasing deployments to mosques across the city out of an abundance of caution. There are currently no known threats to NYC houses of worship.”

US President Donald Trump called the shooting a “terrible situation”.