Father-of-8 security guard hailed as hero in San Diego mosque shooting

A mosque security guard is being remembered for courageous actions that authorities say saved lives in the attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego that left three people dead.

The security guard was Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, 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 said at a news conference on Monday. "Undoubtedly, he saved lives today."

Abdullah and two others - who CAIR-SD named as Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad - were killed by two yet-to-be-identified teenage attackers who later took their own lives.

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".

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 AP.

Sam Hamideh knew Abdullah through the mosque and told the BBC's US partner CBS News 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 deadly shooting unfolded 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 may 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 after, 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.