Messianic Jew Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, one of 14 fatalities, had a heated debate with co-worker Syed Rizwan Farook two weeks before the fatal San Bernardino rampage.

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 for 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.

Meanwhile, Thalasinos’ friend, Kuuleme Stephens, told The Associated Press that she happened to call him while he was working with Farook, and that he brought her into their debate, loudly declaring that Farook “doesn’t agree that Islam is not a peaceful religion.” She heard Farook counter that Americans don’t understand Islam, and Thalasinos responded by saying “I don’t know how to talk with him,” she said.
Stephens said she didn’t sense any pending violence at the time, and it is not clear if their debates factored in the attack. Stephens said Thalasinos did not believe his co-worker would ever turn violent.

However, Stephens said his grieving wife told her later Thursday to tell the media that she now “believes her husband was martyred for his faith and beliefs.” It wasn’t immediately clear why Jennifer Thalasinos came to that conclusion.

Thalasinos’ last public Facebook post, written just hours before the shooting, mentioned receiving a threatening message related to Israel.

Fourteen peaceful people died in the San Bernardino shooting. They lived in across Southern California, from Los Angeles and Orange counties, across the Inland Empire and in the San Bernardino Mountains that hover over the valley where the shooting occurred.

Source: AP, LA Times, Times of Israel