By Andy Rose, Alisha Ebrahimji, Kyung Lah, Norma Galeana, Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN
(CNN) — Less than two weeks before his death, Amin Abdullah said his view of success was based not on what people thought of him in life, but whether he had a “pure soul” at the end.
“May Allahu ta’ala (God almighty) grant us Husnal Khatimah (a righteous ending to life),” Abdullah posted to Facebook on May 5.
“Brother Amin Abdullah got exactly what he desired,” said a man commenting on that Facebook post Monday, hours after the security guard was killed while protecting adults and children inside the Islamic Center of San Diego from a pair of teenage shooters.
Abdullah was one of three beloved community members who died protecting the mosque from what police have said they’re investigating as a hate crime. The two other men, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad, were fixtures of the center who were killed while trying to draw the attackers away from the building.
“We call them our brothers in the community, we call them our martyrs and our heroes,” Taha Hassane, imam and director of the Islamic Center, said Tuesday.
The heroic and selfless actions of the victims ultimately saved lives by preventing the two attackers from penetrating deeper into the building, investigators have said.
“All three of our victims did not die in vain,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said Tuesday. “Without distracting the attention, without delaying the actions of these two individuals, without question there would have been many more fatalities yesterday.”
Three men distracted shooters from children inside
Like many religious institutions in America, the Islamic Center had bolstered its security after receiving vitriolic messages and worrying threats. It erected a fence, installed bulletproof windows and held regular active shooter drills at its school.
And it employed armed guards, like Abdullah, who greeted mosque members with smiles but was prepared to defend against the worst.
“He was the first face of that community to anyone who came through the door,” organizers of a fundraiser for Abdullah’s family wrote, “and the last line of defense when it mattered most.”
Abdullah immediately recognized the threat as the two armed teens ran past him on Monday, Wahl said.
The security guard exchanged gunfire with the teens as he quickly radioed the school to go into lockdown. His immediate action prevented them from gaining access to classrooms just dozens of feet away, where about 140 students and their teachers were beginning to realize something was wrong, the police chief said.
“His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred these two individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque,” Wahl said.
Abdullah was killed in the exchange of gunfire.
The attackers were drawn away from the building by Kaziha, who was the first to call 911, and Awad, who had heard the gunfire from his home nearby.
“When he heard the shooting, he rushed to do something to protect, and he joined Mansour Kaziha. They died together,” Hassane said.
Unable to flee, the two men were cornered and killed by the shooters, who then fled as police descended on the street, Wahl said.
“They tried to do something to protect, but unfortunately they sacrificed their lives to protect the entire community inside the Islamic Center of San Diego,” Hassane said.
Guard showed both steely resolve and friendly smile
Photos of Abdullah show the image Americans have come to expect of a security guard at places of worship and learning, which have so frequently felt threatened by deadly violence. Broad-shouldered an