San Diego Mosque Attack Kills Three Who Tried to Stop Gunmen

Three men died at the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18, 2026, after they moved to block two armed teenagers who opened fire near a school holding 140 children. The deaths turned a potential wider massacre into a contained incident that ended when the attackers took their own lives. Police and mosque officials described the men’s actions as the reason the toll stayed at three.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the victims died while trying to stop the gunmen. Imam Taha Hassane identified them as Mansour Kaziha, 78, a longtime mosque employee; Nader Awad, 57, who lived across the street and attended daily prayers; and Amin Abdullah, 51, the security guard. Abdullah warned school staff to lock down before he was shot, according to statements from mosque leaders. Wahl credited Abdullah with preventing greater loss of life.

The two attackers, identified in multiple reports as 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez, met online and had been the subject of a police search after one mother reported her son missing and possibly suicidal. Officers were already in the area when the shooting began. Both died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds near the mosque. Investigators recovered 30 firearms, a crossbow, tactical gear, and electronics from two residences. A manifesto attributed to the pair expressed hatred toward multiple groups, and authorities described the attack as a hate crime under investigation.

FBI Special Agent Mark Remily stated that the subjects “did not discriminate on who they hated” and that it remained unclear whether the Islamic Center was the sole target. One attacker had been enrolled in a virtual academy in the San Diego Unified School District and was scheduled to graduate this year. Five nearby public schools went into lockdown during the incident.

Mosque officials and family members described the victims’ roles in the community. Kaziha had worked at the center since its construction in the 1980s, running the gift shop and preparing meals during Ramadan. Awad left his home when he heard gunfire to help and divert others. Abdullah, a father of eight who converted to Islam in the 1990s, greeted visitors daily and took his security duties seriously enough to skip meals on shift, his daughter told reporters.

The attack occurred while officers were already searching for one of the teenagers. The mother of the 17-year-old had alerted police shortly before the shooting. Firearms used in the attack were registered to a parent, though how the pair obtained them remains under investigation. The FBI has opened a tip line for additional information.