On a tragic Monday morning, May 18, 2026, the city of San Diego was shaken by a violent act of hate that claimed the life of 57-year-old Nadir Awad and two other men at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Awad, a devoted member of the community who lived just across the street from the mosque, was drawn into the chaos when he heard gunshots. His wife was a teacher at the school located within the center, where approximately 140 children were present at the time of the attack.
Without hesitation, Awad ran towards the danger, an act of selfless courage that would ultimately cost him his life but contribute to saving many others.
The assailants were two teenagers, 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez, who had been radicalized online and shared a broad hatred for various races and religions. The attack began when the mosque's security guard, Amin Abdullah, confronted the shooters, engaging them in a gun battle and initiating a lockdown that allowed many inside to find safety. After fatally shooting Abdullah, the gunmen entered the emptied mosque before heading back outside. It was then that they were confronted by Nadir Awad and another community elder, 78-year-old Mansour Kaziha. Both men intentionally drew the attackers' attention, luring them away from the building and into the parking lot, where they were cornered and tragically killed. Their heroic efforts successfully delayed and distracted the shooters, preventing them from reaching the classrooms full of children.
Following the deadly assault, the two suspects, Clark and Vazquez, fled the scene and were later found dead several blocks away from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Because the perpetrators took their own lives, there were no arrests, and consequently, no trial or convictions related to the attack. The investigation, however, revealed the depth of their extremist views. The FBI confirmed the pair met online and left behind writings expressing white supremacist ideologies and hatred towards multiple groups. Authorities investigating the incident as a hate crime discovered a significant cache of firearms at residences connected to the teens. The case is a harrowing example of a targeted hate crime carried out by two self-radicalized young men. The community remembers Nadir Awad, Amin Abdullah, and Mansour Kaziha as heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, their bravery undoubtedly preventing a much greater loss of life that day.
