More than 2,000 people gathered in a San Diego park to mourn a security guard and two other men murdered while trying to stop an attack on the city's largest mosque. Mourners, including uniformed police officers, stood in rows for the Islamic funeral prayer, Janazah, on Thursday.

The bodies of Amin Abdullah, 51, Mansour Kaziha, 78, and Nadir Awad, 57, lay beneath cloth under a white canopy. "God is the greatest," attendees chanted in Arabic, raising their hands. Many remembered the three as heroes for delaying and distracting the two teenage suspects who opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday during school hours.

"Today is a message to everyone: Our community got hurt, but our community is standing strong and firm," said Imam Taha Hassane. He noted that people had flown in from across the United States, some from as far as the East Coast. One mourner broke down in tears, saying, "Today is just a really difficult day for our entire community."

Monday's attack is being investigated as a hate crime. Police Chief Scott Wahl stated, "We are considering this a hate crime until it's not." Police indicated that the victims' actions likely prevented further bloodshed. The shooting began at approximately 11:43 a.m. Pacific Time, when Abdullah, the security guard, engaged the assailants in a gun battle and used his radio to order a lockdown at the mosque, which houses a primary school with 140 students.

Awad, whose wife is a teacher at the center, lived across the street. He and Kaziha, the handyman and cook, heard gunfire and ran to help. All three died from their injuries. The assailants fled and were later found dead from self-inflicted gunshots.

Khaled Abdullah, 24, the security guard's son, said, "The fact that he was on the front line, trying to defend kids and innocent people, that makes me feel good. Calling him a hero is the least we can do."

Source: www.aljazeera.com