Over 2,000 gather in San Diego to mourn three men killed in mosque attack

The three men killed in Monday’s shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego were remembered as heroes at the memorial.More than 2,000 people have gathered in a park in San Diego, California, to mourn a security guard and two other men murdered as they tried to stop this week’s attack on the city’s largest mosque.Mourners, including police officers in uniform, stood in rows for the Islamic funeral prayer, or Janazah, on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Mansour Kaziha, Nader Awad identified as victims in San Diego Mosque attacklist 2 of 3I knew Amin Abdullah, the hero of the San Diego mosque shootinglist 3 of 3Who was Amin Abdullah, the ‘hero’ guard killed in San Diego shooting?end of listThe bodies of the three men — 51-year-old Amin Abdullah, 78-year-old Mansour Kaziha and 57-year-old Nadir Awad — lay beneath cloth, underneath a white canopy.“God is the greatest,” the attendees chanted in Arabic, raising their hands.Many remembered the three men 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.They are set to be buried alongside one another later in the day at a nearby cemetery.“Today is a message to everyone: Our community got hurt, but our community is standing strong and firm,” said the centre’s imam, Taha Hassane.He noted that people had flown in from across the United States to attend the ceremony, some coming from as far away as the East Coast.Imam Taha Hassane helps to lead a prayer service for the victims of Monday’s shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in California [Mike Blake/Reuters]‘Today is just a really difficult day’One mourner broke down in tears as she talked about Monday’s shooting, which has put Muslims across the United States on edge during a time of rising Islamophobia.“Today is just a really difficult day for our entire community,” said the mourner, who asked not ‌to be ⁠named.