The bravery of a security guard who was shot dead along with two other worshippers at a San Diego mosque on Monday prevented the attack from being much worse, say police.
The guard was Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego (Cair-SD), Tazheen Nizam, told the BBC.
"It's fair to say his actions were heroic," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told a news conference. "Undoubtedly, he saved lives today."
Abdullah and two others – whom Cair-SD named as Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad – were killed by two yet-to-be-identified teenage attackers who then took their own lives, say police.
Police said on Tuesday that as the suspects ran passed Abdullah at the mosque's entrance he began shooting, and they returned fire.
He also enacted lockdown procedures and is credited with saving numerous lives, including those of 140 children at the school that is part of the centre, Wahl said at a briefing on Tuesday.
The two other victims then drew the attention of the suspects in a parking lot, where they were fatally shot. Wahl said the response that Abdullah initiated "undoubtedly" pushed the suspects to flee.
Wahl praised all three victims for deterring additional fatalities.
People who knew Abdullah told US media he looked after the community. Others have taken to social media to describe him as "the nicest man you'll ever meet".
The mosque called him "a courageous man who put himself on the line of the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community".
Nizam, the Cair spokeswoman, told the BBC: "Amin was loved by everybody, he stood there day after day, always smiling, welcoming everybody, welcoming the kids who came to the school.
"He was a shining light. He is a true hero, a martyr."
A friend of the family told the Associated Press that Abdullah was well-known at the mosque and had worked there for more than a decade.
"He wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard," Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq told the news agency.
Sam Hamideh knew Abdullah through the mosque and told the BBC's US news partner CBS that the security guard would be remembered for his kindness.
"It didn't matter who walked up… any random person could just walk up and, like, [Abdullah] would greet them, make sure they are OK," Hamideh said.
"Whether they were homeless off the street looking for something, whether it was a child or elderly."
The other two victims were worshippers at the mosque, said Cair-SD. Kaziha helped maintain its grounds and convenience store. Awad's wife teaches at the school that is part of the Islamic centre.
An online fundraiser for the three victims has raised more than $2.9m (£2.1m) as of Tuesday afternoon local time.
The deadly shooting unfolded close to noon on Monday after the mother of one of the two alleged attackers called police to report that her son had run away with a friend and might be suicidal.
Hours later, as police were searching for the two teenagers, authorities found three victims with gunshot wounds outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, including Abdullah.
Shortly afterwards, police found the two suspects – aged 17 and 18 – dead of self-inflicted wounds in a vehicle blocks away from the mosque.
The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, Wahl said, noting that "hate rhetoric" was involved.
Authorities said on Tuesday that they seized more than 30 guns and a crossbow while searching three residences associated with the suspects.
The guns – including pistols, rifles and shotguns – were registered to one of the suspect's parents, said FBI Special Agent Mark Remily.
Federal investigators also by the suspects that "identified writings and various ideologies outlining religious and racial beliefs of how the world they envisioned should look" , Remily said.
"These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated."
Remily said it's unclear if the mosque or the school were specific targets of the shooting.
Investigators also recovered a manifesto but did not share further details about the document.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria added that the suspects "do not represent our city, these three Muslim men do".
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, US Vice-President JD Vance called the shooting "reprehensible" and encouraged Americans to pray for everyone involved.
"We don't want that to happen in our country, and may God rest the souls of the people who lost their lives," he said.
Vance also said his wife, Usha Vance – who was born and raised in San Diego – "absolutely" would have known people who frequented the mosque and that he and the second lady often eat at a nearby restaurant when they visit her family.
"Political violence, wherever it comes from, is unacceptable in the United States of America. Let's talk with one another, not shoot each other when we disagree," Vance said, adding that it's a principle the the president agrees with.
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உலகம்9 years ago