Nicholas Thalasinos had argued with Muslim killer Syed Farook about Islam. (Times of Israel)
Conservative Nicholas Thalasinos had argued with Muslim killer Syed Farook about radical Islam weeks before the massacre.
Thalasinos received a warning on Facebook before he was murdered along with 13 others on Wednesday afternoon.
Here’s a copy of the threat:
A friend overheard Nicholas Thalasinos speaking to Syed Rizwan Farook over the telephone. Nicholas Thalasinos’s friend reported that she heard Farook speak, LOUDLY, over the telephone two weeks ago to Nicholas. However, she interpreted the tone of the argument as passionate rather than threatening. Nicholas told his friend, “I can’t get anywhere with him”.
Nicholas Thalasinos was a devout believer.
The LA Times reported:
Jennifer Thalasinos said her husband, Nicholas, was a “very devout believer.”
The couple, who met online and had been together for 14 years, were Messianic Jews. Nicholas Thalasinos wore tzitzit, traditional fringe tassels, as well as a tie clip with the Star of David.
“He became born again a couple of years ago, and because of that I had a very strong faith,” she said, “so I know that he’s in a much better place.”
He evangelized many, she said. “He wanted to serve the Lord and bring more people to the Lord.”
Friends recalled him as man who was always willing to lend a hand.
Thalasinos said her husband, a health inspector, worked with shooting suspect Syed Rizwan Farook. She said that he was aware Farook was Muslim but had never mentioned that his co-worker had any extreme views. “If he would have … my husband would have had something to say.”
“They got along,” she said. “As far as I know, [Syed] got along with everybody. That’s what’s so shocking.”
Thalasinos said she had heard that before the shooting there may have been an argument at the party. She described her husband as very outspoken about Islamic terrorism, with strong conservative politics.
“I’m sure that he went down fighting and protecting people,” she said.
Thalasinos’ last public Facebook post, written just hours before the shooting, mentioned receiving a threatening message related to Israel.
