The three men killed in Monday’s shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego have been identified, as a security guard who was killed is being hailed as a hero for his courage during the attack.

Imam Taha Hassane identified the security guard as Amin Abdullah. The other two victims were identified as Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad. Police have said the tragedy, which is being investigated as a hate crime, could have been much worse without Abdullah’s intervention. 

People who knew Abdullah have spoken out about his life, describing him as a father of eight and remembering him for his kindness and valor.

“Because of his heroism and his courage, his bravery, and the love for his community and his faith, he saved a lot of lives,” said Mayte Gutierrez, a former employee of the Islamic Center’s school, which is attached to the mosque. Gutierrez told “CBS Mornings” on Tuesday that she knew the security guard well.

Many have praised Abdullah for keeping the suspects away from the school when they targeted the Islamic Center on Monday morning. Hassane confirmed the entire school was safe, including all of the children and teachers, in a social media post shared in the hours after news of the shooting first broke. While speaking during a news conference, he later urged the public to respect the privacy of the victims and their families.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl on Tuesday said the suspects ran past the security guard, “most likely not knowing he was there,” and Abdullah then fired at them. After announcing the threat on his radio and initiating the mosque’s lockdown protocols, he “continued to engage in a gun battle” with the suspects, Wahl said. 

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

Kaziha and Awad then “inadvertently” drew the suspects back out into the parking lot, “where they were unfortunately unable to flee,” Wahl said. The suspects managed to corner and kill the two men, but while outside, police said they believe the suspects tried to flee in their car after they realized law enforcement was “seconds away.”

“All three of our victims did not die in vain,” Wahl said. “Without distracting the attention, without delaying the actions of these two individuals, without question, there would have been many more fatalities yesterday.” 

The two suspects, 17 and 18 years old, were found dead inside a vehicle nearby, police said. 

Wahl had earlier credited the security guard for helping contain the situation before authorities responded to the scene.

“I think it’s fair to say his actions were heroic, and, undoubtedly, he saved lives today,” Wahl said Monday. 

Sam Hamideh, a parent who said he knew Abdullah through the Islamic Center, told CBS News Los Angeles that the man’s benevolence and generosity were character traits of his that really stood out.

“This guy, like, it didn’t matter who walked up … any random person could just walk up and, like, he would greet them, make sure they are OK,” Hamideh recalled. “Whether they were homeless off the street looking for something, whether it was a child or the elderly.”

Abdullah was hired by the mosque around 2019 or 2020, according to Hassane.

Abdullah “never, ever stopped smiling,” Hassane said Tuesday during a news conference. “If not for him … the carnage would be much worse. He’s the one who stopped them. Who slowed them down. If he didn’t do what he did, and he sacrificed his life, the two suspects would have easy access to every single classroom. We’re so proud of him.”

Speaking about the other victims, Hassane said Kaziha was “the pillar of the Islamic Center of San Diego,” and had been a member since 1986. Hassane said it was Kaziha who first called 911 after shots rang out.

“In the last 22 years being the imam of the Islamic Center of San Diego, I have never done anything without him,” Hassane said. “He is on the top of my list for people to call. Every single thing going wrong, even the lights not working … He was the handyman. He was the cook. He was the caretaker. He was the storekeeper. He was everything. I don’t know what I’m going to do at the Islamic Center without his assistance.”

“We miss him,” he added.  

Hassane also spoke of the heroism of Awad, saying that when he heard the shooting, “he rushed. To do something. To protect. And he joined Mansour Kaziha. They died together … Both of them, they tried to do something.” 

“Unfortunately, they sacrificed their lives to protect the entire community inside the Islamic Center of San Diego,” Hassane said.

Awad lived across the street from the Islamic Center and his wife is a teacher at the school, Hassane said. Awad came to pray at the center “every single day,” Hassane said. 

Wahl said during a news conference Monday that all three of the shooting victims were seen in front of the mosque when police arrived. Moments later, officers were called to a different location nearby and discovered the two suspected shooters deceased inside a vehicle, according to the police chief. The FBI said both suspects were teenagers.

Hassane said the center is “used to receiving hate mail, hate messages, people driving by and cursing and all that stuff,” but that he never expected an attack like Monday’s would happen.

Federal investigators said Monday they had not yet determined a motive for the attack, but Wahl told reporters that “because of the Islamic Center location, we are considering this a hate crime until it’s not.” 

FBI San Diego Field Office special agent in charge Mark Remily said Tuesday that investigators found a document the FBI called a “manifesto” in the suspects’ vehicle. The document, which has been reviewed by CBS News, appears to glorify past mass shooters and spout anti-Islamic and antisemitic rhetoric as well as racist and misogynistic speech.

“These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated,” he said, adding later, “It covered a wide aspect of races and religions.”

Remily also said the FBI and local police are conducting “extensive interviews” with the suspects’ family and friends. As of Tuesday, they had executed search warrants at three different homes, and found guns and other equipment, he said, including “numerous pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, tactical gear, as well as electronics,” at two of those locations. More than 30 guns and a crossbow have been seized so far, Remily said.

Wahl said the guns belonged to one of the suspect’s parents. He said they were investigating how they got the weapons and that it was too early to determine if the parents could be facing charges. Police had previously said the mother of one of the suspects had called police prior to the shooting to report that her son, car and several guns were missing. Wahl said Tuesday it was the mother of the younger, 17-year-old suspect who called.

Remily said authorities are aware that the suspects appear to have livestreamed the shooting, but that he couldn’t comment much on it other than to say investigators were “digging into that as aggressively and as quickly as we can.”

The suspects met online and both realized they lived in the San Diego area, according to Remily. 

The deadly shooting comes as places of worship, in the United States and internationally, are increasingly targeted in acts of violence. On Monday, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said more police officers would be deployed to guard places of worship to ensure “that we anticipate and try to prevent the very worst,” as he also thanked the security guard for his actions at the Islamic Center.

“We didn’t meet that mark today, but I have deep gratitude to the security officer who was here, whose actions and heroism undoubtedly saved lives,” Gloria said.