Tiga korban penembakan massal di Islamic Center of San Diego, Clairemont, California, telah resmi diidentifikasi oleh otoritas setempat bersama pihak masjid pada Senin.
Aksi penembakan yang dilaporkan terjadi pada Senin pukul 11.43 waktu setempat itu menewaskan seorang petugas keamanan, Amin Abdullah, serta dua anggota jemaah, Mansour Kaziha dan Nadir Awad.
Direktur Islamic Center of San Diego, Imam Taha Hassane, memberikan penghormatan mendalam kepada para korban yang dikenal sangat aktif dalam komunitas muslim tersebut.
"He never stops smiling to anyone, our community members as well as our visitors," kata Imam Taha Hassane mengenang sosok Abdullah.
Imam Hassane juga menjelaskan peran besar Kaziha yang merupakan sosok senior yang telah bergabung dengan komunitas sejak tahun 1986.
"When the community started breaking the ground to build the community center (Kaziha) was there," ujar Imam Taha Hassane.
Kaziha diketahui menjadi orang pertama yang menghubungi layanan darurat 911 saat situasi genting terjadi di area luar masjid.
"He was the handyman, he was the cook, he was the caretaker. He was everything," tutur Imam Taha Hassane.
Imam Hassane mengaku sangat kehilangan dan merasa kesulitan menghadapi masa depan tanpa kehadiran dan bantuan dari sang marbot serbabisa.
"I don’t know what I’m going to do … without his assistance," ucap Imam Taha Hassane.
Sementara itu, korban ketiga bernama Awad digambarkan sebagai jemaah setia yang tinggal tepat di seberang jalan pusat kegiatan Islam tersebut.
"He lives across the street from the Islamic Center. His wife is a teacher at the Islamic school. He is every single day at the Islamic Center joining the prayers, every single day," ungkap Imam Taha Hassane.
Pihak pengelola masjid sebenarnya sudah menerapkan pengamanan ketat dalam beberapa tahun terakhir setelah sering menerima pesan kebencian dari luar.
"We have never expected this, even though we tried throughout the years everything we could do, applying for homeland security grants, we have a fence, security armed guards, security cameras covering every single spot inside and outside the Islamic Center," keluh Imam Taha Hassane.
Dengan seluruh fasilitas keamanan terpasang, Imam Hassane mempertanyakan langkah apa lagi yang harus mereka lakukan untuk mencegah tragedi rasis ini.
"What could we do more than this?" tanya Imam Taha Hassane.
Kepala Kepolisian San Diego (SDPD), Scott Wahl, mengungkapkan bahwa tindakan berani dari petugas keamanan berhasil mencegah jatuhnya korban yang lebih banyak.
"His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred these individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque, where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet of these suspects," tegas Scott Wahl.
Berdasarkan rekaman kamera pengawas, kedua pelaku bersenjata kemudian menyudutkan Kaziha dan Awad di area parkir setelah gagal menembus ruang utama.
"The massive response that was seconds away undoubtedly pushed both of the suspects to run back to their vehicle and flee the parking lot, and I want to be very clear: all three of our victims did not die in vain … without delaying the actions of these two individuals, without question, there would have been many more fatalities yesterday," papar Scott Wahl.
Kepolisian sengaja menolak merilis identitas dua remaja pelaku penembakan berusia 17 dan 18 tahun yang ditemukan tewas bunuh diri tersebut.
"What you will not hear from us today is the names of these two suspects," kata Scott Wahl.
Wahl menegaskan fokus penanganan saat ini sepenuhnya diarahkan untuk menghormati para korban dan memulihkan kondisi psikologis komunitas.
"Today is about our victims and our community coming back together," sebut Scott Wahl.
Guna memberikan rasa aman, jajaran kepolisian di seluruh wilayah San Diego kini mulai meningkatkan pengawasan di sekitar rumah ibadah.
"You’re going to see a visible presence at places of worship," cetus Scott Wahl.
Kepala FBI San Diego, Mark Remily, menyatakan penyelidikan manifesto digital pelaku yang berisi ideologi supremasi kulit putih ala penembak Christchurch masih berjalan.
"these subjects did not discriminate on who they hated," beber Mark Remily.
FBI mengonfirmasi kedua pelaku awalnya saling mengenal melalui forum internet sebelum akhirnya merencanakan serangan bersenjata bersama.
"In terms of how the radicalization occurred, we’re still digging into that," pungkas Mark Remily.
