The black suspect, gunned down three white men on the streets of downtown Fresno, California, before he was captured authorities said. One victim was killed at the bus stop of a Catholic Charity.
Kori Ali Muhammad, 39, shouted “Allahu Akbar” — meaning “God is great” in Arabic — as police tackled him to the ground after the shootings, according to Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
He was already wanted for the Thursday shooting of a Motel 6 security guard, also in Fresno. He has admitted to the shootings.
All three his latest victims were white men, police confirmed, and they appeared to have been chosen at random, according to Dyer. Victims were between the ages of 34 and 58.
One of the victims as Mark Gassett, a 37-year-old father, who “had just left the Catholic Charities with a grocery bag full of food when he was shot”. The second vitims was Zackary Randalls, a married father of two.
Authorities said the suspect fired 16 rounds in one minute and was armed with a revolver and reloaded at one point. He opened fire at four locations within a street block.
A Facebook posting by the suspect on Monday said, “My kill rate increases tremendously on the other side.” He also posted about “white devils” and on several occasions, posted status updates that included the phrase “Allahu Akbar”.
Dyer told CBS News Muhammad had a criminal history and has been arrested on making terrorist threats. But despite confirming Muhammad’s terror threats, Dyer denied that the shootings were connected to terrorism and added “this is solely based on race”.
Muhammad’s attorney requested a psychiatric examination for his client, saying he “appeared eccentric with some bizarre beliefs”.
Muhammad, 39, posted the phrase “Allahu Akbar” on Twitter too, writing all in caps that he thanked “ALLAH FOR THE CATACLYSMIC NATURAL DISASTERS STRIKING America.”
