San Diego (AFP) – Outside the San Diego mosque where his father was gunned down by heavily armed teenagers who had been radicalized online, Ramzy sits and stares blankly.
Like many people AFP spoke to in the community, he was having trouble processing what police are treating as an Islamophobic attack that killed three people."Everyone's really shocked," Ramzy said."It's hard to believe this is real. We're just all still figuring it out."His father, identified by officials as Nader Awad, was one of three people being hailed as heroes Tuesday for actions that saved scores of lives.San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the two teenage attackers had stormed into the Islamic Center of San Diego complex on Monday, intent on doing harm, but were engaged by security guard Amin Abdullah, who began firing at them as he raised the alarm on his radio."His actions, without a doubt delayed, distracted, and ultimately deterred these two individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque, where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet (4.5 meters) of these suspects," Wahl told a press conference.Awad and another man -- named as Mansour Kaziha -- drew the gunmen back into the parking lot."He heard the gunshots and ran to help," Ramzy told AFP.
