Security guards face death—yet get cut-rate support

From a mosque in San Diego to nightclubs and hotels across the country, private security guards have increasingly become the first barrier when violence erupts. Yet the pay, training, and legal protections many depend on often lag far behind the risk they carr

When the gunfire started at the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18, Amin Abdullah didn’t stand back. He opened fire as two gun-wielding extremist teens rushed past the center’s security checkpoint. then radioed teachers to lock doors and get 140 school children into hiding places. Abdullah kept firing long enough to stop the attackers’ advance long enough for classrooms to go empty—before the shooters reentered the building and fled.

Police and community leaders later called his actions heroic. and the moment quickly turned into a broader. uncomfortable question for the United States: how does a country lean on private security to protect children. congregations. and customers—while treating the people doing the job as disposable?.

Abdullah’s story landed in a nation where private security has become a near-unseen last line of defense. The United States has more than 1.2 million private security personnel. nearly twice the country’s estimated 700. 000 police officers. and they operate in banks. hospitals. schools. retail stores. apartment complexes. and municipal buildings. They can be overlooked—sometimes mocked—until violence makes their work undeniable.

The stakes were painfully clear in the aftermath of Abdullah’s death. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said of Abdullah. “His actions were heroic.” Rabbi Jen Lader. of Temple Israel outside Detroit. said the attack revived memories of an earlier incident at Temple Israel this year. when a gunman rammed a truck into the synagogue and attempted to ambush the building with 140 students inside; authorities said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound amid a firefight with security officers.

Lader described what religious spaces are paying for when they hire security. “When you’re hiring someone to sit at the front desk. you don’t think you’re asking them to lay down their life for you but that’s what it is. ” she said. “You’re hiring people who are literally tasked with putting themselves between you and a bad guy.”.

Mark Hjelle. CEO of Protos Security. a security firm headquartered in Norwalk. Connecticut. framed the job as vigilance with almost no margin for error. “Security officers can be invisible until the moment it matters most,” he said. “You’re staying vigilant for the one moment when someone’s coming into a building. and that’s a very difficult thing to do.”.

Across the country, the risk isn’t theoretical. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show security guards experience injury rates comparable to other jobs. but their fatality rate is more than double that of the average employee. Assaults are the most common cause, with many happening during evening and early morning hours.

And the incidents keep coming.

In January 2025, Jesus Loera, 45, was killed while preventing an armed person from entering the Honduran consulate in Doraville, Georgia. In February 2025. Ivan Diaz Jr. a nightclub security guard in Allentown. Pennsylvania. was fatally shot while trying to deescalate an altercation inside the club. In April 2025. Eddie Shed. 39. a deacon and head of security at a church in Gulfport. Mississippi. was fatally shot while intervening in a domestic dispute after a church Easter gathering.

In the last two years. the list also includes May 14. 2022. in Buffalo. New York. where 55-year-old security guard Aaron Salter Jr. was armed at the Tops supermarket where he worked. The retired police officer was walking a customer outside when an 18-year-old White supremacist—motivated by the perpetrator of the March 2019 massacre of 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch. New Zealand—approached the store with a semiautomatic rifle. Salter engaged the gunman, then ran inside to warn customers of the attack before being fatally shot. Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia praised Salter for giving staff and customers “precious seconds to escape” toward the back of the store and said. “Because of that. people survived.”.

In October, 54-year-old security guard Amos Gary was among four people killed in a shooting outside a bar and grill on St. Helena Island in South Carolina.

Nightclub duty can be especially volatile. On May 10. Dominique Coleman. a 38-year-old security guard at an after-hours club in Fort Worth. Texas. was fatally shot when he confronted club patrons outside. three days after 28-year-old security guard Jordan Jones was fatally shot after breaking up a fight at a bar in Acworth. Georgia.

Yet for many guards, the pay and working conditions haven’t caught up to the dangers.

Across much of the industry, the job can feel like a tradeoff between low wages and life-and-death responsibility. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says assaults drive many fatalities. and notes average wages for security guards are roughly half of police officers—often without pensions and legal protections. Nearly three-fourths of guards work in investigation and security services, with others employed in retailers, hospitals and schools.

Wages can vary widely depending on location and the specific role. An Allied Universal armed officer position in Chicago for veterans and retired law enforcement starts at $28 per hour. Allied Universal is among the biggest security firms, with some 770,000 employees in 100 countries. An Arrow Security posting at a Connecticut synagogue starts at $55 per hour.

But in the Bay Area, the economics look harsher. A study released in April by the University of California. Berkeley. found that 80% of private security guards don’t earn enough to meet basic living needs. The study says private security guards in California earn $20 an hour on average; some make as little as $14.85 per hour. and nearly half are considered low-wage workers.

David Kaye said desperation drove him into the work. In 2020, he lost his tech support job and spent three months in a hospital battling COVID-19 after he fell ill. With crippling medical bills piling up, he lost his home and lived in Airbnbs. After eight hours of training. he began work as an unarmed guard for private Bay Area companies. eventually rising to a supervisory role. Kaye made $22 an hour as an entry-level guard and $28 an hour as a supervisor. but his pay barely covered the Airbnbs he was bouncing between.

When his manager asked if he wanted to become an armed guard for a few more dollars an hour, Kaye declined immediately. “I don’t want to be in a situation where I need a gun,” he said. “My life is not worth an extra $40 a day.”

Even unarmed guards, though, don’t get to avoid danger. The consequences can reach them anyway.

Manny Marquez. chief operating officer for Nightclub Security Consultants. a San Diego-based security training program focused on the hospitality industry. said the role is underappreciated even by business owners who hire the guards. “Security operations for a hospitality venue are often at the bottom of the priority list,” he said. “It’s not the sexy part of the business. It’s not the latest cocktail or menu item. Security guards are basically a line-item on a profit-loss statement, and they don’t get the attention they deserve.”.

That mismatch—between what guards are expected to do and what they’re given—runs through the current push for stronger protections and training.

Across the U.S. states including Louisiana. Maryland and Pennsylvania are pushing for laws to enhance security guards’ safety. training. and legal protections. New York City passed the Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act this year. guaranteeing better wages. benefits and time off for private security officers. The act is named after a security guard killed in July 2025 while guarding the lobby of a Park Avenue office building during a mass shooting.

With police retention and recruitment perennial issues for law enforcement, some cities have relied more heavily on private security. In Portland. Oregon. and Santa Fe. New Mexico. businesses and municipalities are turning to private security to fill the gap. according to a study conducted by researchers at Duke University and the University of Chicago.

The study also points to a deterrence question: the presence of security guards in public spaces may deter crime, but most don’t carry weapons and lack a police officer’s ability to issue citations or make arrests.

Even when a guard is armed, their legal and practical power can be constrained. Mike Andrus, founder of Florida-based security firm Day Safe Services, said the firearm is often used as a visual deterrent. He said security guards are generally trained to deescalate situations and only use firearms as a last resort to protect themselves or others. He also said there’s no national standard. with training. standards and orders varying by state and by the company employing the guard.

In many mass violence scenarios, the training and response expectations for security can determine how fast a threat is confronted. Smith and Marquez, who lead training at Nightclub Security Consultants, said the earlier a shooter is engaged by someone with a plan, the more lives may be saved.

Smith said, “Our training teaches them to engage, but not to blindly become a hero and jump in there and take bullets.” He added: “With training, you can get the upper hand on getting someone’s gun. We teach that you can’t wait – if you control the weapon, you control the shooter.”

Marquez said the approach helped explain Abdullah’s actions. “He understood that he was in harm’s way,” he said. “But it goes back to training. He had to engage, and he paid for it with his life.”

A culture shift is also happening inside houses of worship as incidents mount. The San Diego attack has prompted religious and advocacy groups to call for increased protections at places of worship.

In December 2019, two volunteer security members of the West Freeway Church of Christ in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, drew weapons and fatally shot a man who entered a crowded church with a shotgun. Authorities said two volunteers were killed before the volunteers shut down the attack.

In June 2025, armed security guards at CrossPointe Community Church in suburban Detroit shot and disarmed a 31-year-old man in tactical gear who attacked the church during a youth service.

In Washington, DC, Shiloh Baptist Church has relied for years on deacons and volunteers to screen people entering the building. But with shootings and attacks on houses of worship rising. the church intends to station armed. plainclothes security guards at entrances and in the parking lot. Church security director Rick Coleman said. “We don’t want to look like a police state. but we want to ensure the safety of our congregation.”.

Bill Ganley. community security director for the Jewish Federation of San Diego. said Jewish institutions rely on security guards and volunteer teams to identify threats and make split-second decisions before emergency responders arrive. He said. “The fact that people are willing to attack based on their hate is something that these security officers know they may have to face.”.

At Faith Chapel, a Christian church in eastern San Diego County, security practices have shifted from reactive to proactive. Leticia Riordan. the church’s security lead. said the team of about 15 volunteers and several armed guards uses scenario-based training with real-world cases so that rehearsed situations feel realistic and team members can stay focused under pressure. Riordan said. “When we train and train and train. we kind of are able to take the emotion part out of it.”.

In Detroit. Michigan. Mike Harvill runs security at a megachurch and hires outside firms to lead deescalation trainings and active shooter drills. Harvill, 65, joined the security team after a corporate retail and banking career. He said recent vehicle-ramming attacks prompted plans to install bollards near the entrance and large boulders on the lawn. He said while gunmen present the ultimate crisis. more common issues are domestic situations. mental health crises or medical emergencies. and he seeks volunteers with what he calls a “sheepdog’s heart.” “We want people who are protectors. somebody who wants to step in and intervene if something happens. ” he said.

After the San Diego attack, Abdullah’s decision-making is being treated as a blueprint for what communities are asking guards to do: intervene quickly, follow training, and buy seconds when seconds matter.

The details of how guards are required to respond remain a gray area. For the most part. private security is often hired to observe and report suspicious behavior while leaving illegal activity to law enforcement. Licensed guards can carry a gun, but their ability to use deadly force can be limited compared with police authority.

That tension—between mission and power—sits at the center of the growing debate over security guard protections. The guards are present where violence can erupt, but many are still underpaid, under-protected, and trained under inconsistent standards.

And for families, congregants, and customers, the difference can be measured in seconds that no one wants to think about—until a guard like Abdullah runs toward danger so 140 children can hide.

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