2017 Fresno shootings

2017 Fresno shootings
Location Fresno, California, U.S.
Date April 13/18, 2017
c. 10:45 a.m. – c. 10:49 a.m. (PDT)
Attack type
 Shooting spree, hate crime
Weapons .357 Magnum revolver
Deaths 4
Suspected perpetrator
 Kori Ali Muhammad
Motive Anti-white racial hatred

On April 18, 2017, a shooting spree occurred in Fresno, California, leaving three men dead. The prime suspect, identified as Kori Ali Muhammad, was then arrested by police and charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Muhammad, who was believed to have been motivated by racial hatred directed towards white people, was already wanted in connection with the murder of a security guard at a local Motel 6 that had occurred five days earlier.

Timeline of events

Motel 6 shooting

At about 11:00 p.m. on April 13, an unarmed security guard working at a Motel 6 in central Fresno observed a man visiting a woman who had checked into one of the rooms. Since motel policy mandated all visitors to provide identification at the office, the guard went to the room, with an armed coworker, to inform the pair of this. As the guard was escorting the two to the motel office, an argument erupted between the guard and the woman. The man then pulled out a handgun and fired multiple rounds, killing the guard at close range. He also fired several shots toward the motel and at another security guard before fleeing. That guard was uninjured.[1][2][3][4]

Manhunt

The woman, who had fled back to the room, was taken into custody on a felony accessory charge after attempting to take evidence from the crime scene and refusing to identify the gunman to police.[5] According to investigators, the gunman escaped police detection at the motel by fleeing south to a nearby 7-Eleven and hiding out on the store rooftop, where he watched officers interview witnesses and waited for them to leave. Once they did the next morning, he got off the rooftop, went to a nearby elementary school, and hid by a dumpster. He then traveled around Fresno over the weekend, changing his appearance by cutting his hair.[2][4]

On April 18, Fresno police identified one suspect in the shooting, 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad (see below).[6] He was a friend of the daughter of the woman at the hotel.[5] On the same morning, Muhammad went to a Starbucks coffee shop while out to purchase items for use in voodoo rituals. He used the shop's Wi-Fi to watch a broadcast by Fresno ABC affiliate KFSN-TV, which identified him as a suspect in the security guard's murder.[7]

Downtown shootings

Hours after the identification, several shootings were reported in downtown Fresno. The gunman first approached a Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) utility truck at about 10:45 a.m. and fired four shots into it, critically wounding an employee seated in the passenger seat. The driver of that truck was spared from injury, since he was Hispanic. That man managed to drive away unharmed, and took the passenger to the Fresno Police Department headquarters, where he alerted officers. The passenger was taken to Community Regional Medical Center, where he later died.[2][8][9][10][11]

Seconds after shooting four rounds into the PG&E truck on N. Van Ness, the gunman proceeded south to Mildreda turning west. The gunman fired two more shots at a 59-year-old man coming out of his house, but missed. The second shot hit a residential dwelling on the other side of the street.[2] The gunman reloaded his revolver in the alley between Van Ness and Fulton. The gunman stated he thought about pursuing the 59 - year-old man believing he had gone back inside his house but changed his mind. The gunman then turned onto N Fulton St heading south, where he fired once at a vehicle containing a woman, her adult daughter, and her four-year-old granddaughter, but stopped shooting after realizing they were Latino. No one in the vehicle suffered any gunshot wounds.[2][7][12][13]

The gunman then walked down the opposite direction, where he spotted a man walking out of a Catholic Charities USA building. He shot the man once in the chest, then killed him with two more shots after the victim had fallen to the ground. He then reloaded at a bus stop and fired at three men. Two of them escaped unharmed, but the gunman chased the third, who was the heaviest and oldest, into the parking lot of a Catholic Charities USA building. There, he fired six shots: two that killed the man, two that struck parked vehicles, one that struck a nearby building, and a sixth that has yet to be recovered. Witnesses said that the gunman cursed as he fired.[2][7][8][14][12]

Officers responding to shotspotter reports found Muhammad running down the street, and managed to arrest him.[8] During the arrest, Muhammad shouted, "Allahu Akbar!"[15] Several bullets and speedloaders for a .357 Magnum revolver were recovered from his person, but no firearm was found.[8] According to Chief Jerry Dyer, the gun was wrapped in clothing and picked up by a Hispanic male who had met up with Muhammad shortly after the shootings and then fled the scene.[2][7] Dyer also said a total of seventeen shots were fired in 90 seconds during these shootings.[7][16][17] Four minutes had passed between the first shots and Muhammad's arrest.[2] Several streets and county government buildings were put on lockdown during the shootings, with people being ordered to shelter in place.[18][19]

Aftermath

The FBI and ATF were notified of the shootings.[8] Agents from the Department of Homeland Security also responded to the Fresno Police Department headquarters.[15] Chief Dyer said that the incident was "a random act of violence" and that the gunman acted alone, adding that it was "too soon" to determine whether the shootings were acts of terrorism.[8] A federal law enforcement official said the shootings did not bear the hallmarks of a terrorist attack and appeared to be more of a "local, criminal matter".[20]

Local authorities said they will investigate the shootings as a hate crime.[17] Chief Dyer said that the suspect, who is black, told police he decided to become infamous for killing many white people after realizing he was wanted in the Motel 6 shooting.[13][21][22] The suspect led investigators through the murder scenes and described exactly how he committed the shooting rampage, laughing all the while.[7]

All of the victims killed in the shootings were white males.[20] The Motel 6 security guard was identified as 25-year-old Carl Williams.[6] The victims of the April 18 shootings were identified the next day as PG&E employee Zackary David Randalls, 34, of Clovis; and Mark James Gassett, 37, and David Martin Jackson, 58, both of Fresno.[7][23]

Mayor Lee Brand offered his condolences to the victims' families and called April 18 "a sad day for us all".[20] PG&E expressed its own condolences to all those involved, including the family of the slain employee.[17][24]

Suspect

Kori Ali Muhammad
Born Cory Allen Taylor
(1978-03-21) March 21, 1978[25]
Fresno County, California
Nationality American
Other names Kori McDonald[7]
Kori MacSon McWallace[26]
B-God MacSun
Education American River College
Cosumnes River College
Fresno City College
Sacramento City College
Children 3

Kori Ali Muhammad (born March 21, 1978) was identified as the prime suspect in all of the shootings. He was homeless at the time,[6] and had some association with gangs, but wasn't a member of one himself.[20] He has three children.[27]

Personal background

Born as Cory Allen Taylor,[25] and also previously known as Kori Taylor,[28] Muhammad changed his name to his present one as a teenager.[29] His grandmother said that Muhammad had been drawn to Islam at a young age. Muhammad's aunt said that her nephew also attended a Baptist church when he was younger.[27]

Muhammad was a resident of both Fresno and Sacramento, California. According to Muhammad's Facebook page, he studied multimedia at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. A spokesman for the Los Rios Community College District identified a student named Kori McWallace—with the same date of birth as Muhammad—who attended Cosumnes, American River College, and Sacramento City College at various times from 1996 to 2004. However, no details were immediately offered about his studies or if he graduated.[30] Muhammad also attended classes at Fresno City College, but according to a classmate, he would often not show up for weeks at a time and accuse his instructors of being racist.[16]

Previous criminal history

Muhammad had a criminal history dated from 1997 to 2004, consisting of arrests on weapons, drugs, forgery, and false imprisonment charges, as well as making terrorist threats.[10][22] Court documents also indicated that he "suffered auditory hallucinations and had at least two prior mental health hospitalizations."[21] Two of his earliest arrests occurred when he was still a teenager; on both occasions, he allegedly brought a gun to school. In 2004, Muhammad was arrested in Washington state for allegedly firing a gun outside his apartment. He left the state and the case was dismissed after prosecutors declined to extradite him to a federal prison.[31]

According to court records filed in February 2005, he was arrested and indicted in federal court on charges of "possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm for drug trafficking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon".[17] In September, Muhammad sought an insanity defense and underwent a psychiatric evaluation after his lawyer claimed his client was "suffering from hallucinations, paranoia and psychosis."[30][32] A judge ruled that he was incompetent to stand trial and had him committed to a facility for up to four months.[32] He was deemed competent in August 2006, after which he pleaded guilty to two of seven counts in the indictment. Muhammad was sentenced to over nine years in prison, though the sentence was downgraded to over seven years in 2008. He was released from prison early in September 2016.[17][28][30]

Muhammad claimed to have shot a person at the age of twelve, but the claim was not confirmed by police.[2]

Views and statements

Muhammad maintained two Facebook profiles and a Twitter account,[26] all in which he paid homage to black pride and black nationalism. His profile depicted images of a Black Power salute and a flag associated with the Pan-Africanism movement.[29] According to police, he "expressed hatred of whites" and the government.[8][33] Muhammad made posts about the murders of five Dallas police officers, in which he praised the shooter Micah Xavier Johnson.[28] He also consistently used the hashtag "#LetBlackPeopleGo" and encouraged "black warriors" to "mount up".[14] Muhammad's father described his son's belief that there was an ongoing war between whites and blacks, and that "a battle was about to take place."[17] He later said that he attempted to warn Muhammad's probation officer about his son's hatred of white people and his plans of killing them, but believes no one followed up on his report.[34]

According to The Daily Beast, Muhammad's posts indicated a support of the Moorish Science Temple of America, an African American organization associated with the sovereign citizen movement, which advocated few beliefs similar to those of mainstream Islam.[28] Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino's Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, said that Muhammad's posts made multiple references to terms used by the Nation of Islam (NOI), a black supremacist organization labeled as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[17] Muhammad's relatives said that he "became involved" with the NOI when he was younger, but did not clarify what kind of role the group played in his life during his imprisonment and after his release.[27]

In February, Muhammad released two hip-hop albums on iTunes and YouTube under the name of B-God MacSun. The Los Angeles Times noted that Muhammad sang that he was an "Asiatic black god", and that the album's contents "repeatedly references violence between black and white people."[17][26][29]

In addition, Muhammad produced a music-themed talk show at the Community Media Access Collaborative, a nonprofit organization specializing in promoting people and companies through the use of media. Muhammad's talk show ran for four episodes, which were produced between May 12, 2015, and October 10, 2016.[26] In that talk show, he claimed that he had joined a Sacramento gang at the age of nine, the "black liberation movement" at the age of fourteen, and the NOI later on in his teens.[31] The organization's director of operations described Muhammad, a frequenter at the facility, as "kind and curious" to the staff.[26] However, a former friend who met Muhammad at the facility, but later removed him from his friended list on Facebook, described him as "intense and unnerving"[23]

An imam at a local mosque said that Muhammad was not a member of his congregation.[20] Following his arrest, Muhammad affirmed to officers that he is Muslim, but that he had not been to a mosque in 25 years and that he prays to a total of seven different deities.[14] He also told officers that he was not officially affiliated with any terrorist groups.[35]

Following his arrest, Muhammad was charged with four counts of murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.[36] On April 21, he made his first court appearance for the first-degree murder of Carl Williams and the attempted murder of the second security guard at the Motel 6. During the hearing, he shouted on two different occasions, saying "Let black people go" and a phrase similar to "in reparations" that was not clearly enunciated. He also warned that natural disasters striking the U.S. will increase. As a result, criminal proceedings were suspended and the judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Muhammad, setting bail at $2.6 million. Muhammad faces the death penalty if convicted of all four murders.[4][37][38][39] His next court appearance was scheduled on May 12,[4] but postponed to June 1 to give psychologists more time to prepare Muhammad's mental health report.[40]

On October 13, 2017 the judge set a trial date for January 8, 2018. The initial hearings will focus on Muhammad's mental competency. During the hearings Muhammad shouted demands for slavery reparations and also yelled "Allahu akbar." Muhammad's lawyer says he continues to gather evidence that he is incompetent to be held criminally responsible. Two psychiatrists have determined that he is incompetent but another says that he is not.[41] On January 22, 2018, Judge Jonathan Conklin ruled that Muhammad is competent to stand trial.[42][43]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Guy, Jim (April 14, 2017). "Unarmed guard, 25, dies in Fresno Motel 6 shooting". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Appleton, Rory; Benjamin, Marc (April 19, 2017). "Dyer: Rampage shooter is 'calloused' racist who 'set out to kill as many as he could'". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  3. ↑ Jacobo, Julia; Stone, Alex (April 20, 2017). "Suspect in Fresno shooting rampage charged with previous murder of motel security guard". ABC News. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rocha, Veronica (April 21, 2017). "Fresno shooting suspect's mental competency to be evaluated". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Lopez, Pablo (April 20, 2017). "Bee exclusive: Affidavit tells how acquaintance of rampage shooter helped him escape motel killing". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Guy, Jim (April 18, 2017). "Kori Ali Muhammad also suspected in Motel 6 slaying". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jacobo, Julia; Stone, Alex (April 19, 2017). "Fresno police chief releases new details in 'hate crime' shooting rampage that killed 3". ABC News. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Guy, Jim (April 18, 2017). "Three dead in Fresno shooting rampage; suspected gunman linked to killing of motel guard". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Fresno Triple Shooting a Hate Crime, Not Act of Terrorism, Police Say". KABC-TV. April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Smith, Scott (April 18, 2017). "Fresno shooter wanted to kill many white people, police say". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  11. ↑ Pope, Troy (April 19, 2017). "Fresno police seek man with shooting spree murder weapon". Your Central Valley. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  12. 1 2 Hanna, Jason; Mossburg, Cheri; Simon, Darran (April 19, 2017). "Fresno shooting: Rampage started with slaying last week, police say". CNN. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  13. 1 2 Smith, Scott (April 18, 2017). "Triple killer in Fresno motivated by hate, not terrorism, police say". Portland Press Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 Smith, Scott; Bollag, Sophia (April 19, 2017). "Fresno Shooting Suspect Laughed About the Killings in Police Interviews". Time. Associated Press. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  15. 1 2 Le Miere, Jason (April 18, 2017). "In Fresno Shooting, Suspect Kori Ali Muhammad Shouted 'Allahu Akbar,' Wrote About Hatred of White People". Newsweek. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  16. 1 2 "California gunman kills three 'in race attack' in Fresno". BBC News. April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rocha, Veronica; Serna, Joseph; Marcum, Diana; Branson-Potts, Hailey (April 18, 2017). "Hate crime is suspected after a gunman kills 3 white men in downtown Fresno". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  18. ↑ "3 dead in 3 different locations in Fresno shooting". KERO-TV. April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  19. ↑ Whitcomb, Dan; Gorman, Steve (April 18, 2017). "Gunman targeting white men kills 3 in Fresno, California". Reuters. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Berman, Mark (April 18, 2017). "Three people killed in 'unprovoked' Fresno shooting rampage 'motivated by hate,' police say". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  21. 1 2 "The Latest: Brother of Fresno suspect shocked by killings". WBOC-TV. April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  22. 1 2 "The Latest: Brother of Fresno suspect shocked by killings". The Mercury News. Associated Press. April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  23. 1 2 Johnson, Alex (April 19, 2017). "Fresno Gunman Targeted 'as Many White Males as Possible,' Cops Say". NBC News. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  24. ↑ Pope, Troy (April 18, 2017). "Suspect in Fresno shooting spree that killed 3 shouts 'Allahu Akbar' when arrested". Your Central Valley. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  25. 1 2 "Cory Allen Taylor". California Birth Index. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 Appleton, Rory (April 18, 2017). "Suspected Fresno rampage killer may have threatened Trump on social media". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  27. 1 2 3 Levin, Sam (April 19, 2017). "Fresno shooting decried as anti-white hate crime, but truth is complicated". The Guardian. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  28. 1 2 3 4 McBride, Jessica (April 18, 2017). "Kori Ali Muhammad: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  29. 1 2 3 Serna, Joseph; Branson-Potts, Hailey; Queally, James (April 18, 2017). "Suspect in Fresno shooting rampage spoke about racial conflict and black nationalism". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  30. 1 2 3 Stanton, Sam; Lambert, Diana (April 18, 2017). "Suspect in Fresno slayings had ties to Sacramento, including a felony rap sheet". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  31. 1 2 "Fresno shooting spree suspect had criminal history, said he joined gang at 9". CBS News. Associated Press. April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  32. 1 2 "Criminal history of accused Fresno shooter Kori Ali Muhammad: Committed to mental health facility". The Los Angeles Times. April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Fresno shooting rampage: Suspect who shot dead 3 wanted to kill as many people as possible, police say". FOX News. April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  34. ↑ Hoggard, Corin (April 19, 2017). "Father of Fresno Shooting Spree Suspect Talks About Son". KFSN-TV. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  35. ↑ Mays, Mackenzie; Anderson, Barbara (April 19, 2017). "Experts say shooting rampage is a hate crime – but not an act of terrorism. Here's why". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  36. ↑ Mossburg, Cheri; Simon, Darran; Park, Madison (April 18, 2017). "Police chief: Fresno killings a hate crime". CNN. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  37. ↑ Lopez, Pablo (April 21, 2017). "Fresno shooting spree: 'Let black people go!' Kori Muhammad yells in court". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Fresno, California gunman enters court shouting". ABC News. Associated Press. April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Fresno killing suspect shouts out during 1st court hearing". The New York Daily News. April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  40. ↑ Appleton, Rory (May 12, 2017). "Psychologist needs more time to evaluate Fresno shooting suspect's mental state, judge says". The Modesto Bee. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  41. ↑ Haagenson, Gene (13 October 2017). "Mental competency trial date set for Fresno shooting spree suspect". ABC 30 Action News. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  42. ↑ Lopez, Pablo (January 22, 2018). "Accused Fresno rampage killer is competent to stand trial, judge rules". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  43. ↑ "California judge: Alleged killer of 4 mentally fit for trial". The Fresno Bee. January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
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