THIRD Update [2009-6-2 6:12:53 by Steven D]: Oui has a diary which references blog posts and news articles indicating the shooter had recently been to Yemen and had been under investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorist Task Force since his return from there. In Yemen he had been arrested for using a fake Somali passport. After reading what OUi posted it does appear this was a terrorist incident by an American citizen with possible associations to a Tennessee mosque with an extremist ideology.
Here is the link to the ABC story claiming the shooter had been to Yemen and was under investigation by the FBI.
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SECOND Update [2009-6-1 23:8:59 by Steven D]: More details from CNN regarding the shooter’s motive:
Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad — a 24-year-old Little Rock resident formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe — faces a first-degree murder charge and 15 counts of engaging in a terrorist act, Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas said. The terrorist counts stem from the shots fired at an occupied building.
While authorities continued to investigate a motive, Thomas said Muhammad is a Muslim convert and, based on preliminary interviews with him, investigators believe there were “political and religious motives” in the shooting.
The suspect’s name is spelled differently in the above story. In addition there are no named sources in the CNN report, so take that as you will.
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Update [2009-6-1 23:0:49 by Steven D]: A Little Rock Police Lieutenant is now claiming that Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad (spelling corrected from below), the suspected shooter of two soldiers in Little Rock, Arkansas today shot the two soldiers because he was opposed to the US military.
“This individual appears to have been upset with the military, the Army in particular, and that’s why he did what he did,” Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said in a phone interview with USA TODAY. “He has converted to (Islam) here in the past few years. To be honest, we’re not completely clear on what he was upset about. He had never been in the military.”
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A soldier was killed in Little Rock, Arkansas, by a lone gunman outside a military recruiting station. Another was wounded. The local TV News station, KATV 7 likely has the most current information:
Police say the incident occurred around 10:15 a.m. at a U.S. Army Navy Career Center inside the Ashley Square Shopping Center at 9112 North Rodney Parham Road. According to Lt. Terry Hastings with the Little Rock Police Department, two enlisted soldiers standing outside the office were hit when an unidentified suspect drove up and began shooting.
The murdered man was a 23-year-old named William Long. Our condolences to his family and to the family of the wounded soldier, Quenton Ezeagwula. Further details about the shooting foillow:
Police are trying to determine a motive in the shooting. Hastings said he did not know whether the recruiting office was specifically targeted by the attacker or randomly chosen.
The FBI (web) (web) has opened an investigation into the incident, said Steven Frazier, spokesman for the agency’s Little Rock office. “Based on what we find, we will determine whether there is any federal jurisdiction to prosecute,” he said.
According to Army Lt. Col. Thomas F. Artis, Long and Ezeagwula were not recruiters, but part of a recruiting program called “Hometown Recruiting Assistance.” Artis says recruiters use soldiers to tell their stories and talk to potential recruits while they are visiting or based back in their home region.
The KATV website has a picture of an African American male in custody though he is not specifically identified as the suspect in the shooting. Video of a witness being interviewed can be seen at this link. The press conference of the Little Rock Police Chief can be viewed here:
The suspected gunman apparently goes by more than one name, one of which was identified by the Police Chief Stuart Thomas as “Abdullah Akeemuhajeed Muhammad” (sp?) “Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad” and the other as “Carlos Bledsoe” (sp?). Until the motive of the gun man and his identity become known I think it would be reckless to make any assumptions about why these soldiers were shot. We can all of us, however, regardless of political convictions, express our regrets and outrage at this heinous act of violence. Nothing justifies the shooting of these young men.
