He showed up to work Monday morning the same way he always did — smiling, greeting people at the door, making sure everyone felt safe. By noon, Amin Abdullah was dead. The
father of eight had given everything he had to protect the people inside the Islamic Center of San Diego when two teenage gunmen in camouflage fatigues rolled up and opened fire
outside the mosque. What should have been a routine Monday at one of the largest mosques in California turned into a scene no one there will ever forget.
It was around 11:40 a.m. on May 18, 2026, when the attack unfolded at the Islamic Center’s Clairemont neighborhood campus, roughly eight miles north of downtown San Diego. The
two gunmen — identified by law enforcement as 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez — had arrived dressed in military-style camouflage and began shooting outside
the center. Officers flooded the scene within four minutes of the first 911 call, only to find three men already dead at the entrance of the mosque.
Abdullah was one of those three men. Police Chief Scott Wahl didn’t mince words when talking about him. “We do believe the security guard was able to help at least minimize the
situation to the front area of the mosque,” Wahl said at a press conference. “At this point, I think it’s fair to say his actions were heroic. Undoubtedly, he saved lives today.”
A friend of Abdullah’s told CNN, “He was the first face of that community to anyone who came through the door — and the last line of defense when it mattered most.”
The other two men killed were also identified by community members. One was a teacher named Mohamed Nader, who actually lived across the street from the mosque. When he heard the
gunshots, he ran toward the building — not away from it — because his wife worked there and he wanted to make sure she was safe. The third victim worked in the center’s food
store. All three were adults. All three died outside before officers arrived.
Inside, there were children. The Islamic Center also houses Bright Horizon Academy, a school for kids from kindergarten through third grade. Imam Taha Hassane quickly got the word
out. “We are safe. The entire school is safe. All the kids, all the staff, and the teachers are safe and out of the Islamic Center,” he said in a video that spread rapidly through
California’s Muslim community. Between 50 and 100 officers swept through classrooms, prayer areas, and surrounding buildings before the all-clear was given.
Meanwhile, the two suspects fled in a white BMW. They didn’t get far. Officers responding to a second report of gunfire just blocks away spotted the car stopped in the middle of
the road. Both Clark and Vazquez were found dead inside from what appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Anti-Islamic writings were found scrawled on the weapons used in
the attack, and one of the suspects had left behind a suicide note promoting what was described as “racial pride.” The investigation is being treated as a hate crime. That Monday
also happened to be the first day of Dhul Hijjah, one of the most sacred periods in the Islamic calendar.
As of Tuesday morning, a fundraising campaign organized by the Islamic Center and CAIR San Diego had raised nearly $1.4 million for Abdullah’s family. The Council on
American-Islamic Relations noted that the attack came during a record year for anti-Muslim bias complaints — 8,683 reports of discrimination and Islamophobia were filed in 2025
alone, the highest number since CAIR began tracking in 1996. Amin Abdullah’s eight children will grow up without their father. But they’ll grow up knowing he went out doing
exactly what he stood for — protecting the people he loved.
