Three men died in the recent mosque shooting; their names were Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nadir Awad. Amind Abdullah was a father of eight who worked as a dedicated security guard at the mosque for over a decade. When the shooters arrived, he immediately engaged with them in a gun battle; he fired back and radioed a lockdown protocol. His actions saved numerous lives, including 140 children who were attending the center’s day school a few feet away.

“His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred these individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque, where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet of those suspects,” Wahl said after Amin Abdullah was shot. 

Mansour Kaziha was a beloved community fixture who managed the mosque’s store for nearly 40 years, while also serving as a caretaker, handyman, and cook. He was the first person to call 911 during the attack. The final victim was Nadir Awad, a devout community member who lived across the street from the mosques, where his wife teaches kindergarten. Upon hearing the gunfire, he ran toward the mosque to divert the arriving worshippers from danger. Both Kaziha and Awad were killed in the parking lot after purposefully drawing the gunmen’s attention away from the building, forcing the attackers to flee. Chief Wahl said Kaziha and Awad were unable to flee the suspects who cornered and killed the men.

“The massive response that was seconds away undoubtedly pushed both the suspects to run back to their vehicle and flee the parking lot, and I want to be very clear: all three of our victims did not die in vain… without delaying these actions of these three individuals, without  a question, there would have been more fatalities yesterday,” Wahl said. Without these men who passed away from these shooters’ actions, many more people would have been killed or seriously injured. Saving 140 children and saving incoming arrivals before worship was a heroic act and many people are alive today because of these massive sacrifices that all of these people made. 

The victims are remembered as heroes for their selfless dedication to their Muslim community.