Hundreds of mourners, interfaith leaders, and public officials gathered at Lindbergh Neighborhood Park in Clairemont on Tuesday evening, May 19, 2026, for a deeply emotional interfaith vigil.
KPBS
The gathering was held to honor the three beloved pillars of the community who were killed the day before while heroically protecting roughly 140 children during a targeted hate-crime attack at the adjacent Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD).
KPBS
Honoring Three Fallen Heroes
During the vigil and an earlier police press briefing, Imam Taha Hassane and San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl described how the three victims deliberately distracted and delayed the two heavily armed teenage gunmen, sacrificing their own lives to give teachers and students enough time to initiate a total lockdown.
Victim Age Role at the Mosque & Community Impact
Amin Abdullah 51 Security Guard: A beloved fixture at the mosque for a decade, known for “never, ever stopping smiling.” He directly engaged the gunmen, traded fire, and radioed an emergency warning to the school inside before being mortally wounded.
Mansour Kaziha (Abu Ezz) 78 Caretaker: Worked at the center for over four decades since it was first constructed. Described as the mosque’s “handyman, cook, and storekeeper.” He managed to call 911 to alert police before being ambushed in the parking lot.
Nadir Awad (Mohamed Nader) 57 Community Member: Lived directly across the street from the mosque, where his wife teaches at the Islamic school. Hearing gunfire, he bravely ran toward the danger to help Kaziha draw the shooters away from the building.
“All three of our victims did not die in vain,” Chief Scott Wahl stated. “Without distracting the attention, without delaying the actions of these two individuals, without question, there would have been many more fatalities.”
The Interfaith Response
Organized jointly by the Islamic Center, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego, the vigil drew vast support from regional religious bodies standing in unified opposition to Islamophobia, white supremacy, and gun violence.
KPBS
A Call for Presence: San Diego Episcopal Bishop Susan Brown Snook invited clergy from across the county to wear white stoles as a sign of prayerful witness, stating: “Simply standing beside our neighbors in prayer and mourning is a powerful testimony to the dignity of every human being.”
Solidarity Against Hate: Tributes and statements of solidarity were read on behalf of the Jewish Federation of San Diego and the Catholic Diocese of San Diego, both emphasizing that an attack on any house of worship is an intolerable assault on the sacred dignity of all human life.
KPBS
Community Healing: Local residents, families, and civic leaders lined the sidewalks outside the Islamic Center with bouquets of flowers, candles, and handwritten signs of love before participating in a communal sunset prayer at the park.
