A CHILD who hid inside a closet during the shooting at a San Diego mosque has recalled the heartbreaking moment he walked past bodies outside the center.
Two teens opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, killing three men outside of the center, which is home to a school for kids in pre-K to third grade.
Students were evacuated from the building, forming human chains with their arms, after there were reports of an active shooter at San Diego County’s largest mosque.
The suspects, identified as Caleb Velasquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17, were later found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds inside a car a few blocks away from the center.
Odai Shanah, a nine-year-old student at the Islamic Center, was among dozens of children who were forced to huddle in classrooms when the gunfire rang out.
Shanah recalled hearing gunshots coming from outside the walls of the complex in an interview with Reuters hours after the shooting.
Teen ‘gunmen’ named after 3 killed in San Diego Islamic Center shooting
Shanah’s parents gave permission for their son, who is also the relative of a Reuters employee, to be interviewed.
The student revealed that he and his classmates were quickly rushed into a closet, trembling together in fear as they heard 12 to 16 shots ring out.
After the shooting ended, the students heard members of a police SWAT team shouting outside the classroom.
“‘Open up,’ then they opened the door,” Shanah told Reuters.
“They kicked open the door and they went inside, they told us to put our hands up and form a big line,” he said.
“We saw a bunch of bad stuff, people laying down and yeah, bad stuff,” the nine-year-old said, acknowledging that he was referring to the victims’ bodies.
“I felt a bit scared. My legs were shaking and my hands and my head was like hurting me a lot,” he said.
”I felt like a rock.”
Shanah also recounted seeing police kick in the door of a nearby classroom after he emerged from his hiding spot.
He noticed a group of second graders forming another line to be evacuated from the building.
The gunmen did not enter the interior of the center and all of the children at the school were reported safe after the shooting.
Police confirmed there were three victims in the shooting who all worked at the center, including a security guard identified as Amin Abdullah.
Abdullah, also a father of eight, was hailed as a hero for helping minimize the threat at the mosque.
“We do believe the security guard was able to help at least minimize the situation to the front area of the mosque,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
“At this point, I think it’s fair to say his actions were heroic. Undoubtedly, he saved lives today.”
Another victim was identified as Nader Awad, a kindergarten teacher who lived across the street from the school and reportedly rushed over to make sure his wife, who was working at the time, was safe.
The third victim, Mansour Kaziha, worked at the center’s food store and helped Awad lure the suspects into a parking lot away from the building before they were cornered and killed.
The shooting is now being investigated as a possible hate crime after officials found Nazi markings on a gas can and anti-Islamic messages on the gunmen’s weapons and inside their car.
One of the suspect shooters’ mothers called police hours before the shooting unfolded to report her son as missing along with three of her weapons and her car.
The woman told police she believed her son was with a companion, dressed in camouflage and was suicidal.
Fayaz Nawabi, founder and executive director of For The People Action group, mourned the three victims in a series of Facebook posts.
Nawabi said that Kaziha left behind a “legacy of service, selflessness, and honor.”
“When Nader heard the gunshots, he immediately ran toward the danger,” he added.
“He grabbed whatever he could from brother Amin Abdullah and went inside to confront the two terrorists. He was martyred in the process.
“Brother Nader was always trying to do right by people, especially by his children.”
Law enforcement officials said on Tuesday that they were investigating a 75-page document, containing anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ views, reportedly written by the two suspects.
“I think one of the important takeaways from this moment is, this didn’t just happen overnight,” Wahl, the police chief, said.
