3 victims of California mosque shooting helped prevent an even worse massacre, police say

San Diego mosque shot victims hailed as heroes

The teenagers who killed threesome people at a San Diego mosque met online and shared a " spacious hatred" toward different religions and races, U.S. Authorities said tues.

Mark Remily of the FBI said writings by the suspects have been uncovered, but authorities have declined to specify which ideologies or views they expressed.

Thirty firearms and a crossbow have been recovered from two residences searched in connection with the investigation.

Remily said authorities are still trying to uncover whether the shooters had broader plans.

Hours before Monday's attack, police were racing to find the two teenagers who would ultimately be deemed responsible.

The mother of one teen reported her son was suicidal and had run away, according to San Diego police Chief Scott Wahl, who said weapons and her vehicle were missing from the family's home.

Two hours after the mother's call, the shooting started at the Islamic Center of San Diego, which also houses a school.

The suspects, aged 17 and 18, were found dead in a nearby vehicle, having killed themselves.

The shooting was the latest in a string of attacks on houses of worship and comes amid rising threats and hate crimes targeting the Muslim and Jewish communities since the beginning of war in the Middle East.

Authorities executed search warrants for the houses of the suspects as they pieced together how and why the attack happened.

There was no specific threat against the Islamic centre, which is the largest mosque in San Diego, but authorities found the suspects engaged in "generalized hate rhetoric," Wahl said.

Muslim American organizations were quick to point out that anti-Muslim rhetoric has been on the rise across the U.S.

"Words have consequences," said Mohamed Gula, interim CEO of advocacy group Emgage Action.

Among those killed was security guard Amin Abdullah, who authorities said helped thwart the attack.

Abdullah immediately ​recognized the two teenagers as a threat and opened fire on them as they ran past him ​outside the mosque, according to Wahl, who added the suspects then paused to return fire.

In the midst of the confrontation, it was Abdullah who transmitted the radio call that activated a security lockdown at the mosque, which Wahl also credited with preventing further bloodshed there.

Abdullah was fatally shot in the parking lot along with two other men who helped distract the suspects after they stormed into the building, by drawing the teens' attention through a window and luring them back outside as police were closing in on the scene, Wahl said.

Those two men, identified as Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad, were cornered and shot dead by the gunmen outside.

Wahl said all three victims gave their lives to spare others from harm, but he singled out Abdullah for special praise due to his "heroic action," adding that at first he "had no idea how heroic those actions were."

"His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred those two individuals from gaining access to the greater ‌areas of the mosque, where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet [4.5 metres] of these suspects," Wahl told reporters.

Taha Hassane, the imam and director of the Islamic centre, called all three of the victims "our martyrs and our heroes."

'Outrageous' to target place of worship, imam says after San Diego mosque shooting

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